Dun, Monarch, and Opinions

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . watching a Monarch butterfly float by me on the breeze.

. . . kicking and tossing a ball around with Daniel and Anna while Joy was at baseball practice.  Sometimes Daniel would stand three inches away from me when I "tossed" the ball, so he was virtually guaranteed to catch it.

. . . helping the little kids safely get to know a horse that was being ridden through the park and stopped to snack on the lawn.  We learned that the horse was a buckskin dun, which is why it had a dark stripe down its back.

And another thing . . .

. . . Anna is starting to develop Opinions.  Instead of eating virtually anything I put on a spoon for her, she zeros in on one thing she likes and rejects everything else.  When I motion for her to walk a certain direction, she just stands there and waits to see what will happen if she refuses.  I understand that forming opinions and testing boundaries are part of normal human development, but I kinda miss the good old days when Anna did whatever I told her because she didn't realize there was an alternative.  Ah well--at least she still lets me nuzzle her hair and smooch her chubby toddler cheeks.