little picasso

i'm not a great mom when it comes to letting k play with messy things.  i have a hard time letting her do, let alone participate in, things that are bound to make a mess.  it seems like it has to be a holiday if k gets to play with markers or paint. 

for her first birthday, yes that's two years ago, she got some finger paints.  i finally opened them up and let her play with them just a few months ago.  (they were hidden in the cupboard for over a year and a half until she found them and asked if i could open the bottles.) on a couple of occasions, i've set her up at the kitchen table, taped paper down, put her in an old t-shirt of mine, and let her go.  she loves her some finger painting!

for her birthday this year, k received a princess art kit and she had been dying to use the paints.  it was a tiny paint set, 2 tiny brushes, and a couple of tiny books to paint in.  i unclenched and opened it up for her.  how big of a mess could she make with such tiny things?  not much, it turns out.

i'm not sure why i have this idea that she's going to make a huge mess if i let her use paints and markers.  and if she spills something?  we wipe it up.  just writing this post is a bit therapeutic for me - i'm able to write my thoughts on the subject, read my words, ask myself "what's the big deal?", and open it up for any other discussion. 

now that my thoughts are out of my head, all i can think about is how great it is to encourage k to be creative.  i would never want to squash her artistic inclinations.  who knows if she'll be like mom and be a sewer, like dad and be a photographer, or carve her own little creative path?  i'm excited to watch and see what she comes up with!