The messy smile

I take a lot of pictures, which gives me the luxury of choosing the ones that present the best version of my life. My kid never cries, and she never oozes snot. If her hair is messy, it's messy in the breezy, casual way of a fun-loving kid; not all batshit crazy-messy like Nick Nolte's mugshot. According to my Flickr stream, she is the picture of cuteness at all times.

She's a good-natured kid, and lots of fun. But she's also a messy little bundle of chaos. I wanted something cute for today's shot, but I knew I was signing up for something a little more "real": tears from a recent outburst, snot from being - well, snotty; food, messy hair, and a smile that could evolve to a giggle or disintegrate into tears at any second (both of these things happened).

This was an eventful dinnertime.

Afterwards, Jer and I set aside some "us" time to make potstickers. It's messy sometimes, but there's no getting around it: I have a good life.