I have often marveled at how children choose the most basic items to entertain themselves. The boxes and bubble wrap that contain birthday presents are always far more interesting than the gifts tucked that are inside. Pots and pans create better music than any store bought instruments and hours can be spent pouring water between cups. It makes me wonder why we have a basement full of toys.
Today, Evan spent over an hour arranging dried apples and raisins onto a kitchen chair. Over an hour…
He arranged, and rearranged…
He stood back and admired his work…
He was so very proud.
Until his brother tragically mistook the masterpiece for a snack.
Oh, the life of an artist is filled with heartbreak.
Next time, we’re playing with rocks.
{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
So cute! I love the intense concentration!
So sweet, the look on his face, like “Huh? Who took my art?”
I know, me too. It quickly turned into a tantrum and I stopped taking pictures. ;)
This made me laugh so hard I cried. Those pudgy fingers! That concentration! Then…foiled again by the artwork eating brother! Priceless…
Aren’t those fingers the best? :)
OMGosh those last 2 pix are too cute!!!!
What a monster! Teach him to respect the arts! ;-)
again – such a cutie! such concentration too!
the pics are great!! can’t wait to see them…and i’ll try to have the art supplies handy…i have the chairs!
This is so cute! I have a pic of my son from Christmas, surrounded by new toys, and he was sitting in an empty box playing with the lid! Oh, the money we could have saved :)
We moved two years ago and the kids would spend hours in the boxes. I can’t think of a single toy that has ever brought them such joy!
But rocks won’t stick to the chair. LOL That is so cute. I love it when the kids find something simple like that to play with and it keeps them occupied for so long.
Oh that is seriously the cutest and funniest little scene!!!
Awwww… This is SO cute!
The last picture of your little one is just priceless.
I love these photos – isn’t it great how they find fun in the most mundane things?!
I’m sure Picasso went through the same heartbreak;)
I can’t get past those little, chubby, adorable hands…Sorry, what was the rest of this post about?
So, cute. Great pictures!
(PS: Can you email me? My outlook doesn’t work, so I can’t click on your contact info. It’s about Mouthy.)
Haha…adorable! I love how Ben see’s dried fruit stuck to the side of a chair and thinks “yum…a snack”. boys are funny.
It’s really nasty- those apples were GROSS. Boys are yucky.
He is so cute! I love his cheesy proud little smile.
Love it… Such great pictures… & B E A U T I F U L babies!
Adorable! I remember when my 18 year old was one, he got so many gifts, but the best gift of all was the box that a rocking horse came in. He pushed it across the yard a dozen times during the party.
I love it! It is amazing what can capture the minds of children…
Edible art can be the most fragile type.
Oooooh! These photos tell your story so well! I love the expressions on his face while he is working! So proud of his masterpiece! I feel bad that brother ate them! LOL!
Love the heartbreak picture! So sad!
OVer an hour? Dude, I guess no worries of ADHD with that child!
No kidding– he has amazing concentration. It’s kind of bizarre.
I love this!!! They are so adorable!
Those pics are sooo cute! I love the one of those little fingers workin’ hard!
Over an hour? That is quite the concentration! If only I could do that. And what about those tears….You just want to kiss them away.
So cute. Kids do funny things, don’t they! And for all the fun toys I buy it’s something completely boring (in my opinion) that keeps them interested. I think they must be learning something when they concentrate like that – hand-eye skills, etc.
Awesome stuff. We have bought all sorts of fancy toys, but what my Mini-Kamp loves is a good pot, pan and a $2 run of the mill plastic ball from Target. Doh!
But rocks don’t taste as good!
Lovely artwork. At least there is photographic remains!
This is an adorable series. Poor guy!
Bean – one of your best!!!
Oh my gosh I LOVE this : ) His art is fantastic. And that little cherubic face just melts me. Every. Single. Time. I. See. It. Don’t worry. I am absolutely NOT a Psycho : ) He is just so stinking cute.
PS I might be a tiny bit psycho but for the most part, very nice and normal!
I love it when I go to the toy store and rack my brain for 45 minutes thinking of getting my son some great toy he’ll want to play with all day just to have him never give it a second look. The useless squares that come in his cereal box that I’ve yet to figure out the purpose of… he plays with all the time.
Oh that adorable, disappointed look!
As a fellow artist, I totally understand how he feels.
1 hour! That’s amazing for a boy his age. Maybe I need to buy some dried apples and raisins for play time (vs. snack time)
I love this post! So cute. An hour, huh? Now that’s what I call a starving artist!
Now we know why the artist is always starving.
I don’t blame him for eating it. I eat anything within in a 2 mile radius these days and I woulda been all over that food art. LOVE these pics – the look on Evan’s face is priceless.
I think I’d let my toddler smear peanut butter on the wall if it kept her happy for an HOUR! Love the chubby little hands too by the way!
Oh my God. Look at how FOCUSED he is! Priceless!
I love the heartbroken face. Kids are just so true when they “emote.” :)
I have to tell you that this post warmed my heart.
:-)
Oh, no!
The “heartbreak” pic is adorable! He looks so… well, heartbroken!
How creative, apples & raisins on a kitchen chair. The pictures are adorable.
I love that you LET him do that. Some moms would have flipped out over the sticky apples on the chairs. (Not me! Hell no. PLEASE occupy yourself. By all means!) My own Evan used to decorate with toothpaste to occupy himself. Yeah. I didn’t care for that stage all too much….
As long as it doesn’t result in injury, I’m happy letting them do just about anything to pass the time. This was a no-brainer!
quit being a cool mom and letting your kids play with food. why can’t you be a clorox wipe nazi like me and bark more?
your boys are more than a little bit adorable, btw…
You clearly need a velvet rope around the kitchen chair, to keep the unwashed masses away from the masterpiece. Or maybe some of those laser beams like they always have in spy movies. ;)
It is amazing the things that kids can entertain themselves with.
My mom would have FLIPPED if we stuck food to the chair. Nice to see I’m not the only “more mellow” mom :O)
You could have spent hundreds of dollars and he would never have been entertained that long. What great photos.
Cute! I am impressed with his dedication…I’m investing in dried apples and a “don’t freak about the mess pill” for myself…LOL.
Though I do think that one I could handle.
Love it!
I am so glad you got this on film. Priceless!
I love it…he’s so meticulous! Too cute!
Oh that is adorable. The face, oh my goodness, the face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jill look at the concentration on his face! love that…priceless indeed.
Oh my gosh, I love it! Way too funny- fun and edible!
That is so cute! I love that you captured his heartbreak face!