ONE BROWN SPIDER, ONE BLACK TIRE, ONE CHARCOAL PIG

“Sometimes something can look beautiful just because it’s different in some way from the other things around it. One red petunia in a window box will look very beautiful if all the rest of them are white, and vice-versa.”

- Andy Warhol

Ian was giggling!  And I think of Warhol's quote.  So apropos when it comes to toddlers and their fascination with "because it's different".

Ian was giggling!  What on earth would he be giggling about?  Just able to crawl, in the family room, sun shining on his little baby wisps of light brown hair, he was giggling.  Do you remember baby giggles?  Spontaneous, pure silly, and delightful.

But, what was this child laughing at while crawling on the floor?  So, I leave the kitchen, round the corner, and find he's looking at the laminate flooring.  Still I don't understand.  I go closer.

His little chubby body is leaning on one hand towards a small droplet of water.  With his free hand he pokes a chubby finger at something.  Why, it's a little button-sized spider!  A spider!  It scuttles away and stops at the next droplet, Ian giggles.  I guess the spider's getting drinks.  He pokes his little finger at the spider again, and again the spider scuttles further away to the next droplet.  And my toddler giggles with delight!

***

Master Jacob.  Master Jacob has been added to our family -- Miss Lilly's brother.  And, he too, is now adept at crawling.  He crawls from room to room speedily exploring.  One of his favorite things is the door stop.  It's where he stops.  He gives that spring a flip and it jangles and rattles for long minutes.  Then he gives it another flip.  And it jangles and rattles for more long minutes.  This can go on and on for quite some time.

But today he's exceptionally quiet.  Wondering what's got his attention, I grab my camera 'cause I spy him and see his intensity and concentration.  He's making a Match Box car wheel spin.  

***

Miss Lilly loves to draw.  I'd given her a Scribble Slate, one of those filmy, flimsy cardboard rectangles, with a skinny red plastic drawing stick attached.  Doing quite well, Miss Lilly with her 3 y.o. best ability, was drawing Toothless, a character from How To Train Your Dragon.

From somewhere, she got the idea that I had to draw her a fish.  So, I did that one stroke figure 8 loop, and pencil tipped an eye-dot.  Then I was asked to draw a pig.  I'm NOT an artist.  I can do many things.  Draw free hand, I cannot!  I did the best I could.  I drew a pig.

As Miss Lilly turned the slate over to show me the piggy-drawing instructions, my 3 y.o. granddaughter said of my art,

"That's not a very good pig."