I have no idea what I'm doing.

Okay, so maybe it's not that bad. I feel pretty competent at changing diapers, nursing babies, tidying toys, giving baths and naps, and putting babies to bed. But, there are days when I just can't shake this feeling of being a little girl with her dolls. Only now, the dolls are getting bigger, louder, and are requiring more and more decisive action and discipline on my part. And that's when I feel like an amateur, which I pretty much am. Last Thursday, I spent most of my day wearing a pair of strappy black heels around the house. Mind you, I have no taste for shoes. I don't like wearing them, I certainly don't like shopping for them, and even less do I like buying them. These shoes are the nicest pair I own, only for special occasions. Most of the time I wear a pair of black flip flops that go with everything in the summer, and in the winter it's boots or a pair of mock-Birkenstock's. I'd prefer to go without completely. So anyway, back to last Thursday. I had a ton of laundry to do. We all went through a round of strep throat a few days before, and I was neurotically washing all of our bedding, plus catching up on the laundry that had accumulated while I was sick. I was getting a little frustrated at how little I was getting accomplished compared to how much I was working. The morning had been a series of spills, diaper changes, nursings, and other toddler and infant-type interruptions. So when I noticed Ambrose starting to rifle through the shoes in my closet, I thought, "Good, that should keep him occupied for awhile." Instead, however, he emerged from the closet carrying the aforementioned heels, one in each hand, shouting, "Mama! Thew!" (translate: thew=shoe). "Yeah, great. You found some shoes." I replied, unenthusiastically. He proceeded to sit down at my feet and began trying to take my flip-flops off. "Thew. Mama. Thew." I was a little humored that he was so intent on me wearing these shoes, so I put them on. He giggled, and said, "Niiiiiiiiiiiiii!" (translate: nice). He then ran off to check out the semi truck that was driving down our street. I slipped the shoes off as soon as he left the room. When he returned a few moments later, he shrugged his shoulders saying, "Thew? Thew? Mama thew?". And then he dug those darn things out of the closet again. And I wore them. Funny thing was, he didn't forget about them. He routinely kept checking to make sure I was wearing the correct shoes, and each time he would giggle and say, "Niiiii!" It was just so cute. It made my day, and I'm not at all sure why. Now I just hope he outgrows the lisp and the shoe fascination before he gets too much older. :-) So, I know why you're here. Here are the pictures you've been waiting for. (Oh! This was so cute! Matt told Ambrose to go read a book to Peter...and he did. Make Way for Ducklings...he just stood there quacking and pointing at pictures of ducks.)