Feeding our youngest angel a fantastic concoction of rice cereal and blueberry pear mush, I suddenly realize the house is way too quiet. What on earth is my 2 year old up to? I call to him, sweetly dividing his name into two syllables. Obediently, he emerges from the bedroom he has begun to share with his big sister. A tube of Boudreaux's Buttpaste is in his hand and one cheek (not the kind for which butt paste is intended) is carefully decorated with slash of pale brown war paint. How long was it quiet? Way too long for such a minimalist bit of face painting.... With great trepidation... I slowly enter the bedroom and I am surrounded. The bedroom has become a hideout full of painted warriors. The new baby doll and her rocking horse have smears of war-paint on their cheeks. On the nose of each stuffed bear and dog, a glob of pale brown. The piggy bank, and even the smiling face on the kleenex box, each face has been butt-pasted. As I carefully wipe the noses and cheeks of each doll, asking "Who else did you decorate?" He sweetly brings me my next patient. Two nights ago Miss Zee the Clown was painting kids faces. His blue eyes had watched carefully as his sister was beautifully decorated. Perhaps next time he will be brave enough to get his done too. Or just grab the brush and take over...
