Every girl deserves a manicure

My sister was over last week and we were stamping Emilie's 1st birthday invitations. I know, hard to believe that she's going to be 1 already! So we were pretty preoccupied, and Melody did well playing by herself. It came to be nap time, and I explained to Melody that I couldn't read her a story because I had to help finish the invitations. I asked her if she would be able to play by herself in her room and fall asleep on her own. She said she could, and she's actually done this a few times before. One time she never took a nap, she just lay in her bed for a couple of hours "reading" one of her books.
About 20 minutes go by and I hear her calling, "Mommy! Mommy! Come look and see what I did!!!!" I thought she fell asleep, so I go in there to find that she decided to give herself a manicure. She painted her fingers (not just the nails), meticulously, for the entire time she was in her room. Now here's the good part. I didn't want to yell at her, because she was so very proud of herself, but clearly this is not something I want her to do again. So I calmly explain that she did a very nice job, but she should never paint her nails without Mommy around. I then send her to go see Carol so that she can get a good laugh at it. I then examine Melody's room, looking for the giant pink puddle of nail polish that I know is around somewhere... only I can't find it. I call Melody back in to show me where she painted her nails. She brings me over to her bed. I think to myself, "Oh no... not nail polish all in her comforter and sheets, pillows, stuffed animals, etc..." But I can't find any polish around. I ask her a few more times, and she says to me, "Mommy, I spilled some by accident." I ask, somewhat scared, "Where?" She shows me the 2 little drops on the sheet, no bigger than a pinpoint. So then I ask her where the polish is now. This 2 1/2 year old girl (that isn't very girlie), took out her nail polish, opened it up, took the time to neatly paint her fingernails (and fingers), kept putting the polish brush back in the jar to get more, then when she was all done put the cap back on and put the jar away. All without spilling any, or getting any nail polish all over the room? Wow did I ever dodge a bullet with that one!



Of course I take a picture first and then clean the poor kid up! But look how pleased she is, and trying really hard not "mess up" her nails!