Tutus, Roly-Polies…and the Inner Kitty.

My sweet Maija Hope just turned three.  She is a deep JOY to me.  She always has been, but she is in this very very challenging stage.  Mostly she is totally and completely adorable and delightful and so funny.  She is passionate.  She is creative and busy.  She has a deep, beautiful giggle that makes us all laugh.  She is sweet and kind and helpful.  She LOVES to be with me, to be my helper, and to have my complete undivided attention.  She has become a great wrestler which makes Daddy really proud!  But you know how there are certain things that are just every day, precious things that you don’t ever want to change or to suddenly disappear?  Well, she has so many of those right now, but three of them I have to write about.  I want to seal them in my memory (and in my blog!) I treasure so many things as her mommy, but too many words, phrases, and stages go so fast and then they’re gone.  I’m realizing that more and more as my kids grow…so I want to capture these little things a bit more.

Almost daily–at some point in our day, Maija will emerge from her room with her beautiful disheveled curls down her shoulders, wearing one of her light pink tutus…and often accessorized with her ‘princess slippers’ and whatever else she is in the mood for at that particular moment :)….she waltzes down the hall, strikes a pose and usually asks if she looks beautiful, or if I like her tutu! I tell her she looks beautiful!!  I love everything about it.  And her.

The next thing I know, my ballerina-princess has tip-toed (or tripped!) out the front door and I suddenly

hear, “ROLY POLY ALERT!!” Which means, of course, she has found yet another precious roly poly to add to her large and growing collection!  She and Caleb spend hours uncovering the small gray balls and rescuing them to the safety of her bug cage!  She LOVES these bugs and shares her passion with any friend that visits us.

When Maija is well-rested, well-fed and happy, she will often snuggle up, speak so sweetly and bring me such joy with her kind spirit. Often I’ll encourage her and tell her how much I love her or how proud I am of how sweet her spirit is…she will most often look up at me with eyes blinking, smile and then let out a squeaky ‘meeee-owwww’…and sometimes she even sneaks in a lick across my face (NOT my favorite part of the inner kitty, but at least she’s showing love :))  The kitty sounds and imitations seem to represent when she’s happy and content.

Now, the not so sweet part about the inner kitty is that it all too often becomes a vicious tiger with a horrible, blood curdling scream.  The inner animal in Maija very much reflects her mood, her actions and her spirit.  When we hear growling down the hall (I’m not kidding), we know to brace ourselves…when we hear sweet kitty meows, all is well with her sweet kitty soul.

Oh, my sweet Maija. I love you.  Inner kitty and all!

Thank you for keeping me thankful for the sweet little things

…the daily miracles and the beauty around me.