She's so cute...

Marianna is going through a super cute stage. She really thinks she's a BIG girl and no evidence to the contrary will convince her otherwise (i.e. she's short, she can't talk [properly], she drinks milk from a baby bottle, she wears nappies, etc).

On Friday, when I had to do a mad shop at Coles in preparation for feeding family for Jason's two birthday lunches (and then had to rush to another "thing" before having to rush home to wait for a barage of tradespersons who were to attend our house that afternoon), Marianna decided that sitting in the baby compartment in the shopping trolley was for babies NOT big girls like herself. She wanted to walk, on her own, without any assistance the whole way around!! Half way around the aisles she found a giant bottle of dishwashing detergent which was almost as big as her which she just had to carry around the rest of the way, both hands gripping around the girth of the bottle and hiking it up every once in a while as it attempted to slip out of her grasp. She had a look which was a perfect mixture of joy and concentration on her gorgeous little face. Her tongue stuck out just a little and every time I would glance back at her and she would catch my eye a smile of pure self-satisfaction would uncurl. It almost made the stress of taking over an hour to do a "quick" shop bearable.

Also, as can be seen in the photo above, she has decided that sitting on the dog's bed, which is near the french doors in the kitchen, is a very enjoyable thing and does so at every opportunity.

Despite my constant whinging about the children there are moments (sometimes numerous moments) when they are both content and even happy in each other's company. These glorious moments are pure bliss and provide me with windows of insight when I remember why I wanted to have children in the first place and why I really do love them so very much. Here is proof: