Dirt and Pee

We (finally) had a birthday party for Lucy this weekend. We had her party at little park and she kept walking to dirt piles and falling down on them. She had a blast and was so filthy. It just made me stop and think that I have never let her play in the dirt before. I'm not sure what it is about having a girl that makes me want to hold her close and keep her clean and tidy. She never had a problem with that before but since turning one she has a newly developed sense of independence (hand in hand with separation anxiety!). Sometimes I just have to step back, let the kids explore and learn and try not to think about the dirty knees and party dress. It just seemed so much easier with the boys!

Potty training our 2 (almost 3) year old is not going well either. Now there is a mess I hate cleaning! Sometimes I just want to put the pull-up on him so I don't have to clean urine out of the rug (again) but I know he'll not learn that way. It is really testing me with patience and kindness which I know are areas I need improvement on anyway. I cannot wait until everyone is out of diapers!