I Can't Wait

I have been trying to think of more creative activities that I could do with my 2 and 1/2 year old, Brady. Sometimes I feel like I am not really sure what is his age level or really what to do, but recently, I have realized that there are so many things that I can do with him that are art related. We color, draw and occasionally play with play dough, but I have not done a whole lot more than that, in the art category. A few months ago, we bought fingerpaints as a birthday present for Abram. I decided to get the Color Wonder ones for him so that his Mommy would not have to worry about a mess - she had enough to think about with a newborn! So, I was thinking that I would get the same ones for Brady.

On Sunday, I went to Michael's with my 50% off coupon! Before I went into the store, I began to think about what I was going to buy and a thought and picture came into my mind. I could envision my son fingerpainting with the real "messy" kind of fingerpaints - and he was having a blast and giggling! Excitement started to well up inside of me...but I was also thinking about the mess that fingerpainting can make...so, I was wrestling with what choice I should make. I mentioned it to Dawson and he told me to do whatever I thought would be "right" - or something like that. I knew that whatever I bought would be fine - Brady would have fun...I just had to decide what I wanted to do.

Brady and I went into Michael's and I found the non-messy fingerpaints and picked them up, but as I looked at them in my hand, I felt that this was not what I was supposed to buy - I felt that I was supposed to buy the "messy" fingerpaints - so, I put the Color Wonder ones back and picked up a four pack of paint. You know what happened next? A huge smile came onto my face and excitement welled up inside of me.

I am really looking forward to using these fingerpaints with Brady and making some really cool pictures! WE are going to have a lot of fun using these TOGETHER! :) We have not had a chance to do anything with them yet, but we will soon - YAY!

When I was thinking about this today, I remembered back to my college days...I was a biology major and I had many, many labs experiments that I had to complete. While in the laboratory, it is important to measure things correctly and to keep your area clean and neat - no messes (on purpose!). During my sophomore year of college, I took a ceramics class as my art elective - not an "easy" elective - in fact I probably was in the pottery lab, throwing pottery, about 20+ hours a week - and I enjoyed a lot more than organic chemistry! In fact, I loved it! If I had more time in my schedule, I probably would have taken Ceramics II - in fact the instructor encouraged me to do so - I thought that was a little funny, considering I was a Biology major!

Do you know what I loved about this class/lab? While I was working in this lab, I got REALLY messy - in fact, I had a special outfit that I kept in my art locker that I only wore while working with the pottery...it had clay all over it! The cool thing about it was that I was ALLOWED to get messy! I LOVED it - it was almost like a "freeing" thing.

This is the same excitement that is welling up in me as I look forward to the fingerpainting. It is okay to get messy. It will wash off - and it will be done outside, in a place that I will not mind cleaning up. So, now I will find an old couple of dress shirts from Dawson to use as our smocks and it will be time for Brady and I to create! :)

This post can also be found on my blog.

I Can't Wait

http://momnaction.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-cant-wait.html