here in my life these days, i know with much certainty a few things to be true: 1. maddalena loves horses. specifically casey. 2. i love horses. specifically casey. 3. i love maddalena. 4. when you’re the mom, you decide when birthday gifts can be opened. 5. yesss! i love having this kind of power!
so, my little sweet thing talked me into a casey visit on wednesday evening [it doesn’t take much, obviously!], and gosh, she did such a great job with him! so so great that she earned herself a birthday present that evening, one whole week early. YAY TWO! i see you, two!!
maddalena is pretty darn careful and cautious by nature, which, as her paranoid mother, i really appreciate. it’s quite a handy quality. but! despite her hesitancy around anything or anyone that could potentially pummel her, she’s super interested in interacting with the horses and “miamia do it!!” as much as she possibly can. of course i just eat that up! but also, i want her to feel confident and knowledgeable around horses as she grows, whether she actually rides in the long run or not… because i plan to always have horses in my life. so! i feel like arming her with experience is the best thing i can do, and so far that seems to be what she wants, too. 🙂
anyway, on this particular sunshiney evening she went from brushing casey’s tummy just a little, to sitting on top of him [“ride!”] but feeling unsure when he shifted his weight or stomped away a fly, to actually riding on top of him bareback aaall the way from the barn to the pasture [with me spotting/deathgripping her, of course]! oh, she was beaming and squealing and shining with all things sweet and wonderful. and iiii waaaas soooo prooouuuud! i’ve prayed for years that casey would still be around to teach my babies the things he’s taught me. and here he is, being a perfect gentleman for my baby princess as she gazes at him with giant hearts in her eyes! and i mean, really. i was kind of amazed at her performance. she was totally at ease as casey walked, carrying herself with such a natural balance! and she loved it so much. i thought she’d never get off.
when we got back to our house a bit later that evening, a package had arrived in the mail… just a little something i’d ordered last minute for maddalena’s birthday next week. i was going to save it for the big day, but she was all “package! miamia’s package?” and well, i thought it over for a bit and decided… she’d have plenty of gifts to play with on her actual birthday, right? why not give her one a week early!! especially given what the gift was…
and so! fate had it that one week before her 2nd birthday, maddalena rose received her very first set of the cutest little pink horse brushes i think i’ve ever seen in my life. just a little kit i found on amazon with everything you need to groom your horsey, all inside of a perfectly maddalena-sized “packpack!” i thought perhaps she could use them to take care of her pink rocking horse at home [named casey, of course] for a while until potentially needing them one day for a real horse… and wouldn’t you know it, that baby lady skipped dinner to work on keeping her pink casey all nicely groomed and cared for! she was picking out his hooves, combing his tail, and brushing his fur half the night…
truly dedicated, that girl! she’s been working so hard, and it is just plain precious. naturally, horse grooming has officially been filling a lot of our time around here, as she spent all the next morning telling me, “care of horse! care of horse!” and pulling her horse around saying, “come casey! come!” you know what? i just really love her. and man, am i excited to see her enjoy more birthday gifts next week! this is such a fun age.
and ps. here’s a little video of her big ride! my mom was capturing what she could, and it’s just too happy for me not to squeal over a bit. 🙂 i love when she calls him a “good boy” and then pats him, then turns and pats me. and also, when she drops the leadrope as we’re walking and kind of half slides off, but still has no intention of getting down. haha. oh, and additional ps. we’re working on the helmet situation! i hear there are a couple of types that will work for toddlers…
omg, this video is too adorable! makes me miss riding so much. i think you've got a 'barn rat' on your hands already. it'll be hard to keep her away from the horses 🙂 and what a handsome boy that casey is!
It does not get any cuter than this!!
What a wonderful little video! What a good horse. She is going to be just like her mama – you can see the horse love all over her face. And excellent music choice. Naturally.
Precious!! I rode horses for like 10 years growing up and I hope my [future] kids will love it as much as I did!
Aw! she was beaming in the video! I think she'll be a horse fan forever 😉
this is THE CUTEST!! she is in heaven 🙂 and i'm sure her mama is too!
oh just stop it right now! this is theeeeee BEST !!!!!!!!!! love love love it all 🙂 🙂