Surprise, Mama!

This afternoon Kathleen woke a little early from her nap. I was still nursing Madeline, so I didn't go to get her right away. Normally, if that happens, Kathleen sits in the rocking chair reading books, so I wasn't particularly concerned. Additionally, I was listening to her on the baby monitor (which we've begun doing since Kathleen's been sleeping in a toddler bed), so I felt confident that there wasn't much going on. Ah, how wrong I was!

After a few minutes, when a fully-fed Madeline had been placed in her crib, I went to get Kathleen from her nap. She had just begun fussing when I opened the door.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" I began. And then stopped, dumbstruck.

Kathleen sat on her bed, literally covered in baby powder. Her face was white like a mime's. Her bedsheets looked as though they'd been given a liberal dusting of powdered sugar. The floor was covered in powder, too, complete with toddler footprints. The air in the room was hazy with it.

My brain kicked in a few seconds later, when I told Kathleen not to move and that I'd be right back. I ran to the diaper bag, fished out the camera, and captured this moment of toddler mayhem:

After snapping two quick photos, I grabbed Kathleen and began (cautiously) to dust the powder off her. In a matter of seconds, I too, looked like I'd been rolling in powdered sugar. I tried to take stock of the damage, inspecting the linens and floor. Oddly enough, there wasn't any container of powder lying around the room.

Kathleen must have sensed my confusion, because she wriggled out of my arms and went straight to the dresser. She opened the top drawer, pulled out the now-empty bottle of baby powder, and handed it to me.

"Mama, this!" she explained.

All I could do was laugh. How could I be upset? After all, she did pick up after herself!