in which amelia learns braille and takes to painting nudes

to be fair, she has taken to drawing IN THE NUDE . . . because we bought her a flash little easel that came with a whiteboard and a chalkboard (two sided!), and its own set of magnetised letters and numbers. it is a favorite activity, and for some reason, it is more fun to draw au naturel, than with clothes on. the numbers and letters come in handy for slinging around the neck of the pens BEFORE she starts drawing, and dangle precariously as she does so, acting as odd little stencils. planes and heddicotters are a feature when we get involved, and all planes need wings, a tail, a rear window with amelia waving out, and a set of stairs being climbed by a man, or by people.

as for braille . . . she has taken a keen interest in the few raised moles on my face and neck for some weeks now. she has tried on many occasions to see if they come OFF, digging away at them with her sharp little fingernails, but after many pain-induced reminders from me that they are ATTACHED and that they HURT when she does so, she has reduced her activity to running her fingertips over them in a strange sort of ritualistic manner. she flicks my face over to one side so she can scope out my neck, and then up and over my face she goes. even in the dark, when i give her a cuddle before sleep she asks "where's smoles?" and up come the fluttering fingers, ever so delicately, not resting until all have been accounted for.

ODD ODD CHILD.