Watermelon Gumbo Recipe

The 2's (and the 2 year molars) are coming! Buttons is loving the word 'no' and is really fighting the whole nap scene. Today she woke up from her 30 minute nap with violent thrusting and free-flowing "no"-ing. I tried to hold her, put her down, hug her, kiss her, sing to her, but nothing seemed to work. She finally let me hold her, but she was very unhappy. Everything I offered, she refused. Finally, I asked her if she wanted to hear a story. With a very soft nod, I was given the ok. I started to tell her the story of a wonderful girl who had a case of the crabbies and how her parents tried everything to help her, but still she was crabby. So her parents just hugged her and waited for her crabbies to go away. Buttons enjoyed the parts of the story when the parents asked her if she wanted to oink like a pig or act like a monkey and she still said "no". She aquired the lip quiver when I told her about parents having the crabbies sometimes. She's a compassionate girl. When I asked Buttons to name the girl in the story, I gave her the choice of Shika (her fave name) or Blueberry and "no" was the answer. Then, out of the strange blue, I asked if her name was Watermelon Gumbo. With a sweet smile, she said "yes". That's how you make Watermelon Gumbo and give Buttons a smile.

The portrait above is titled "Watermelon Gumbo" by the artist Buttons using Fisher Price Doodle Pro. This piece is on its side with the legs in the air to the right. Brilliant, right?