Day 573: All dressed up and nowhere to go

My mom found this hand-made, pearl-embellished, pink, crocheted handbag for Mads at a yard sale recently. It's got clear plastic handles and gold beading and is, in a word, god-awful. But whoever actually sat down and created this atrocity of an accessory would likely be thrilled to know that it is among Maddie's most prized possessions.

She fills it with her garish strings of Mardi Gras beads, slings it over her shoulder, says "bye bye," and toddles right past us and out of the room. She looks every bit the pint-sized socialite off for some shopping or lunch with the girls. And she's got the attitude down, too - her chin in the air and a little wave over her shoulder as if to say, "Don't wait up."

As soon as she turns the corner she laughs her head off and two seconds later comes running back, squealing, only to empty out her purse and start the whole thing over again. And over. And over. There's no such thing as too much repetition in the life of a toddler, it seems. In the life of a mommy, of course, things tend to get a bit old on say their hundredth time around. But she's quite convinced these days she's the most hysterical person on the face of the planet. She cracks herself right up - and me too.

Happy Halloween to all your little ghouls and goblins! Maddie is of course forcibly resisting the idea of any sort of costume, so I'm sure I'll have some stories to tell!

ps - excuse the horrible picture, I'll get a better one tonight. Although, it's kind of fitting to see her in the midst of our renovation chaos. We just got our cupboards! Yay for minor miracles!