Alligators

Five little monkeys swinging on a tree,
Teasing Mr. Alligator, "Can't get me."
Sneaky Mr. Alligator quiet as can be,
And snapped that monkey right out of that tree.

This is currently Evan's favorite song. He can do the whole thing, and it really is one of the cutest things. What is even cuter, though, is when he begs Issa to play it with him. She clearly does the song far better than I do.

Last night after dinner, Evan convinced Issa they should play alligator. I have never been so glad I didn't put the camera away. I loved catching this moment:
Issa looks so grown up--arm around her brother, head on her hand.

Somehow, singing the rhyme turned into being the alligators:

I resisted the inner mother voice that was yelling, "Don't run in the house!" and just laughed as they ran around being the least sneaky alligators I have ever seen. At one point I asked who was chasing whom, and the response was classic: "We are!" It's amazing how the details just don't matter when you are having this much fun.

And this face...this face is fun:

That look of pure abandon is priceless.

One of my biggest realizations this week is sometimes I just need to sit back and watch. I resisted the urge to jump into this game last night. They didn't need a third alligator, and it is such a wondrous thing to watch my two angels play so well together. I loved laughing with them and having the ability to just watch their faces and listen to their giggles. Sometimes being present means being present on the side lines--letting them take center stage--and capturing the memory.