Playing in the Dirt

I've been fighting some bad allergy symptoms. My goal for most of the days this week has been just to survive and actually we've made out pretty well. We had some rain the last couple days that broke the humidity so it was nice enough to be outside today.

Our lovely mud area has given Aliza and Josiah many hours of amusement. I've actually grown quite fond of it too. I can sit on the hammock and watch as Aliza and Josiah play happily together or alone. And I often catch myself thinking how lovely it is to be able to sit and just watch. I really can't believe the following story happened to me:

Aliza and Josiah each had a cup that they were filling with sand. They would walk to the edge of the trees in the background of the first picture and dump the dirt. I can't tell you how happy I was just sitting on that hammock watching them play in such close proximity to each other with no squabbles. I was thinking about how much fun it will be to watch them grow up and continue to gain confidence and independence. It was a fabulous internal conversation!
I decided to grab my camera and when I came back the "pouring dirt on each game" had started in earnest. But everyone was happy. It was too late to stop it. I was going to have to hose them off anyway so I just let it go.

Then....after lunch I was holding Josiah and I noticed this (see below) on his face. I asked Aliza what happened. She said, "I bit Josiah." I asked why she bit Josiah. She said, "because he was putting dirt on me." I think I vaguely remember hearing Josiah cry for half a second at one point while they were playing. That must have been when she bit him. I guess that hammock was really nice.
No more hammock time for me! Clearly a 3.5 year old and a 1.5 year old cannot be left to their own devices. But it was a nice thought! Someday.....