Caught red-handed...

Last night upon my arrival home, I was greeted at the door by...who else..the dog!!!

And then, after rounding the corner...the cat is belly up on the floor (as if to say...oh mommy...look at my fluffy undercarriage that needs a little tickle...oh please, oh please, oh please!!!!).

But no sign of the husband person or the baby person...hmmmmmmm!!!

Maybe hiding in the corner of the kitchen...nope!

Out on the deck was the cutest sight you would ever want to see. Sitting on the far end of the deck...was hubbie and sitting in his lap was li'l foot. he's such a good daddy. Could I ever have imagined having a hubbie who would spend the hours of 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. alone with our baby while I worked and commuted...nope...never imagined!!! But alas, he has surprised me yet again.

As I walked around hubbie and squatted just in front of the two of them, li'l foot's eyes shifted and focused in on my face and the biggest grin crossed her face and it was right then...that very moment...and every one of those moments each night when I arrive home that my heart just melts...into a soft puddle of unconditional love. Who can ask for more than that? Every night I love her more and she makes it so easy one of these days I might just explode with love for her.

So, as we're sitting there just enjoying each other...enjoying our little family of three...we get to talking...

Hubbie: Did you cut her the last time you cut her nails?
Me: Oh my gosh...NO! Why?
Hubbie: She's got a red mark on her finger! (he shows me)
Me: No, that's not a cut...see I can scratch it off her nail with my finger nail.
Hubbie: Oh!
(Yet we still were not sure what the heck it could be and continue to silently ponder it.)

And then we get settled into eating and Li'l Foot was laying on my lap at one point and I had her right hand in mine and I noticed this red stuff in the little crevices her little fingers...odd? No? Yes! I figure I would ask at daycare in the morning. Are they testing me to see if I bathe my child every night...cause YES...I do!!! (And I scrubbed her paws extra hard last night just to make sure!!! God, I'm obsessive!!!

Fast forward to this morning...friggin 7 a.m. and I actually remembered to ask the staffer about it.

Me: Did you guys happen to finger paint yesterday?
Staffer: Ummm...(insert puzzled...deer...caught in headlights look here)...yes, yes we did.
Me: Oh, ok, just making sure cause Li'l Foot had red between her little fingers last night and I didn't know where it came from.
Staffer: yeah, that's from us...we were working on...oh...wait I can't tell you what we were working on!
Me: Um okay (teehee that means if from no one else, I will be getting a 1st Mother's Day card hand made from daycare...like...YAY!!!...Do you know how long I've waited for a Mother's Day card?)
Staffer: We tried...but Li'l Foot didn't really go for it so much.
Me: Yeah, you'd think she was a criminal the way she guards her finger prints and makes a fist all the time.

And with that I let it drop...I will not ruin the surprise any further. And you all will just have to wait like good little girls and boys for Monday May 14th to see what it is.

HINT: DON'T FORGET YOUR MOTHER ON MOTHER'S DAY!!! ONLY 9 DAYS LEFT!!!!