art interpretation

We've hit this incredible milestone in the ages of our children and the growth of our family, in which craft projects have become so much easier than they were just a year ago. Beads are no longer eaten, paint is no longer ingested, and as a general rule - markers stay at the table. Generally speaking. It's heavenly, really. The result is days worth of craft projects and piles worth of finished projects. This mama is very happy, and so are the little ones.

I consider myself a fairly mindful, sorta crafty mama. I know well enough to never insert my own interpretation of childrens' art before they have. I never do. And yet - every once in a while - I find myself so very convinced and so very sure that I know the subject of the art, that I dare presume an interpretation. On this particular day, we had just returned from a long walk in the woods when the painting began. The table was covered in inspiration brought in from the outside -  leaves, pine cones, acorns. I had just finished reading an autumn poem, and we had even been talking about the foliage through the whole painting process. So when Adelaide finished her painting and proudly handed it over, I quite confidently said, "It's fall! The trees! The leaves!".

I was met with an icy chill and a stare from my sweet little one. Followed by an emphatic, "No, Mama!!! Milkey! Me Milkey one side. Me Milkey other side."

Oh, right. What was I thinking? It's a painting of my breasts.

Comments

[Melissa!]

Oh...wait...(tilt my head)...ah...(squint my eyes)...um...oh yes, I see it! ;)

[Ella]

that is the most adorable thing i have read in a long while!! Thank you for that.

[Sarah]

Ditto the comments about making my morning! And I love the last photo...beautiful composition as always.

[Kristin]

Okay, that's hilarious! Good going, Adelaide. Lovely painting too.

[katie]

that is so awesome!

[Beth]

Now *that* is a painting you'll have to save forever.

[Natalie]

Of course you'll have to frame it now!

[Anne]

This is making me laugh out loud...and you should frame this picture.

[colleen]

that is one for the books. so incredibly funny!

[Camille]

HA!! Perfect!

[mel]

that is priceless! so sweet and precious. it will be fun years from now to pull that painting out and ask your daughter if she remembers the day she painted your breasts. fun!

[crimson]

That is the best picture of breasts ever.
How sweet!

[m.o.M]

Wonderful! I laughed right out loud at that.

Thanks for sharing!

[sarah]

LOL So sweet! I had a similar experience a few weeks back... read towards the bottom of the post.

http://stitchywitchy.blogspot.com/2007/08/my-ruby-girl.html

[mj]

Oh that's too funny!

[Grace]

Fabulous. A painting of your breasts! I just love it. I LOVE it. Very cute, very sweet. A lovely abstract expressionist painting. ;)

[The Simple Family]

First, the day where markers and paint aren't eaten will be a bittersweet day.

Second, my daughter was drawing in chalk with her grandparents outside. She did her traditional scribbles and then did something else. Her grandma asked if it was a rainbow (I guess that's what she had been drawing) and she said "No, it's my 'gina." (Pronounced Gy-na)

[Eugenia Gina]

ahahhahaha!! I widely smile right now!! xD

[Heather]

So great! I laughed out loud! My Colin is 2 1/2 and still nursing. Hasn't painted the "bwests" yet, but really still loves to nurse! Ah, mother nature at her best! The painting is great and yes, isn't it great that the older they get, you can have a better crafting time with them? I also let Colin use my acrylics and he is pretty good with them...most of the time. Then there are the times when he wants to "flick" the brush and there are colorful spots all over the wall! Thanks for sharing!

[Leah]

heh heh heh!

Seems your bosoms have taken on a lovely fall look!

The best thing about kids is when they say stuff like this - I LOVE it.
xxxx

[brandie]

ah! i am laughing out loud!! of course she would paint her most favorite thing. she is too sweet for words, really.

[LobotoME]

That is hilarious! :)

[Jessica]

Ha! Hilarious!

[Megan]

k, almost snarked my coffee on that one!!!
What a precious child

[Kelly]

of course!

[Kristy]

Ahhh, the boobs. Sometimes I think that my name is "mil! mil!" (accompanied by emphatic hand squeezing - sign for "milk") & not mama. Love it Adelaide, love it.

[m]

I rarely laugh out loud while reading blogs, but this post, oh my. It's going to bring a smile to my face all day. Thank you, Adeleaide! And thank you for sharing.

[emily ruth]

that is so great! & can you really ever have too many paintings of your breasts?:)

[Kim]

Oh I didn't see that one coming, it gave me a happy chuckle this morning. So ADORABLE!

[amy]

Yes! That's excellent! At least she uses a paint brush instead of her hands. My 2 1/2 year old paints her hands with the brush and then paints!

[comfortablycrazy]

this is what being a mom is all about. Moments like this make it all worth it.

[Lissilulu]

that is so adorable!
my 16 year old daughter and I just had to read through every comment. :o)
I tried to teach my now 11 year old son to say *drink, drink* when he was nursing (nursed til 3)but all he got out of that was GeeGee....I ended up being his french poodle...who would have know?
Lori

[Angel]

Yes, what kind of paints! I bought some the other day and when i got them home the chemical smell was so overwhelming I had to throw them in the trash.

Love the picture, and Adelaide's strong opinions.

[Sarah Wellmeier]

Wonderful, That is so funny!

[Jennifer]

Absolutely. Hilarious.

[Linsey]

Oh my, what a fabulous story.

I'm still in the let's-chew-the-tops-off-the-markers stage. Looking so, so forward to the time when that's done!

[Jean]

This story made me laugh and laugh. Your daughter reminds me of my daughter when she was that age. It's so sweet how important breastfeeding is to the little ones. Love the painting!

[Siri]

This is so sweet. Somehow, those moments, as a parent (or otherwise, for that matter), when you're proven so very terribly WRONG, when all your assumptions are thrown, are often some of the very best, no?

[jenifer]

such a great moment! being an art teacher, i just love listening to my younger kiddos tell me about their work!

[Magpie Ima]

I love this! One of my younger son's very first drawings was a page covered entirely in circles entitled "na-na" which was his word for nursing. Hey, it's what they know best, right? Thanks for sharing.

[Haley]

Absolutely. Hilarious. This really made my day! Thanks for sharing.

[Brooke]

This is by far my favorite entry ever. I truly love it. It is a beautiful picture of "me milkey". I can easily see my daughter doing that one day. Thank you for sharing, you bring a little light to each of my days. In fact, the mama craft blogs I have been reading have recently inspired me to restart knitting... and take up a new craft, sewing. I'm so excited! I love that I will bring my daughter up in a crafty home.

[Toni]

Hey, look! You're dressed for fall! :)
What a cutie-pie that A.

[Rubyellen]

That is so funny!!! Such an intricate imagination children have...

[erin]

just had coffee come out through my nose. thanks for the laugh.

[Melissa H]

That's a piece of art for the baby book! Thanks for sharing the hilarious story.

[kendra]

Oh that is too funny! What a beautiful portrait :)

I'm envious of your art time, my 3 yr old son seems much more interested in getting the crayons out of the box and back into the box than the actual coloring. I'm thinking he's much more into engineering than art, it's good but hard to accept sometimes from this art major mama.

[Dee]

How sweet and funny! Hehe.

[tara pollard pakosta]

ummmmmm LOL>>>>>>> TOO CUTE!!!!!
so so sweet!
tara

[Janene]

Wow. I'm at work, and I laughed out loud. My son, our first baby, is 5 1/2 months old, with an insatiable appetite. He is already exhibiting signs of obsession. Thank you for the laugh, I can relate, and I see what I have to look forward to. :) I'm a somewhat new reader - how old is your baby?