Another day and another visit from Elle. I met the family at the door as they arrived. Elle had a couple of daisies in her hand that she had just picked from the garden. "They're for you" she said to me. I thanked her profusely and took them. We played together for about an hour or so doing our usual activities. Horsey rides are back on the agenda again after an absence of a few months. She seems to prefer it when I keep my back at a 45 degree angle and bend my knees to bounce her up and down. I'm probably risking back injury here but hopefully by letting my knees take her weight I'm minimising the risk and besides, it's a chance I'm prepared to take.

Later we were in my room spinning her around on my computer chair again with her little brother tagging along. Elle had chosen an old fire engine from my toy collection to play with, her brother wanted to play with it as well but she wouldn't let him. I had to put my foot down and told Elle if she didn't share it with her with her brother I'd take it off her. So she gave the fire engine to him and picked out a toy train for herself instead without a word of complaint.

By this time I had to get back to work (the joys of working from home) so I left the kids to it in the living room playing with the toys and watching the TV set to Nick Jr as per usual. About an hour later I had finished up and went back to the living room. While I'd been away Elle had been very busy with her felt tip marker pens. She'd taken the red marker and had drawn all over her face, hands and feet. Her little brother had been drawn on in much the same way but in black and brown. "I'm a cat and he's a dog" she said. She had drawn whiskers on her face and lines around her eyes and mouth. It looked surprisingly good for a 3 year old and made her look cuter than ever too. When their mother saw it she had mixed feelings, while she thought they looked cute she was not relishing the prospect of cleaning it all off. Thankfully the markers were washable so it shouldn't have been too much of a hassle. We spent the rest of the afternoon cuddled up on the couch watching TV. She always takes a while to settle and sits on my lap and beside me in all sorts of positions and sometimes putting her hands and other parts of her body in places on me she probably shouldn't (not that I'm complaining).

Eventually it was time to go and as usual it was my job to carry her out to the car and get her buckled in. It's a great oppurtunity for last minute cuddles and goodbyes. As I carried her out Elle pointed to the daisies and said "I want a flower", I said I'd get her one once she's all buckled in. I picked a flower, gave it to her, she said thanks, one last hug goodbye and they were gone. As I headed back inside I found a line from and old song by Rita Coolidge had popped into my head "Your love is lifting me higher than I've ever been lifted before". At the risk of sounding corny that's how I felt, our relationship had just gone up another notch. Receiving a flower from her (and giving one) meant so much to me. My best day yet.