A snapshot of life

With the warmer weather (or maybe more accurately: lack of snow?) the three older girls are spending more and more time outside - which is awesome. Mostly it's Del and Child F. exploring while making big make believe plans, that often dissolve before coming to fruition.
Baby E. REALLY wants to go out with her sisters.
It's been muddy and wet and cold - so less than ideal conditions for a baby who is pretty confident on her feet but not that great at uneven terrain. So she stays inside and looks out the window.

Yesterday I asked if Del wanted to play with Baby E. outside.
"Yes!" she replied enthusiastically.
"You have to stay with her," I said.
She earnestly promised.

So I brought Baby E. out and put her on the front walk next to Del.
Del picked up the baby who smiled, waved, and said "byebyebye" to me - a first for being happy to see mom go.
Off I went, back into the house unencumbered to tackle the winter-outerwear-laundry-marathon.

Time passed. Minutes or an hour.
I peaked outside.
No kids in the front.
I checked through the laundry room window - I saw Child D. holding herself - she needed to pee, and NOW.
I saw Del.
I saw Child F.
I saw no Baby E.

Quickly I opened the window and called out: "Child D., you have to pee! Inside NOW!"
Half-way between the front door and the back, she stood looking back and forth, unsure what to do with herself.
"Del!" I called out, "Where is Baby E.?"
She looked left.
She looked right.
She looked worried.
"I don't know! I lost her!" Del said horrified.
"ugh!" was my frustration and I ran to the mudroom, rushing into farm boots and out of the back door.

"Mom!" Del called as I bolted out the back door, "She's with dad with the chickens!"
Sure enough, I could see the baby's dark magenta fleece sweatshirt against the brown-turning-green pasture as she stood inside the chicken netting.
Phew.
"Where's Child D.?" I called out.
"Behind the trailer!" Del replied.
I made my way around speedily, hoping to avoid an accident.
There was Child D. slowly waling towards the back door.
I scooped her up from behind, as I pulled her pants down and held her up in a squat so she could pee - we weren't going to make it to the house!

"And poop," Child D. informed me.
"What?" I said. "No poop! We have to go inside, we can't poop out here!"
All pee gone, I pulled up Child D.'s pants and we made for the house.

"What the heck!??!" Ren Man called from the chicken camper-coop.
"What?!" I asked. Now? Really!? I have a peeing-pooping emergency and have only just recovered from the-baby-is-missing emergency!

"Why is the duck coop opened?!" he called back.
"Child D.?" I asked. "Did you open the duck coop?"
"No," she replied all passionate innocence.
"I did!" Del piped up.
"Del!" I said. "Daddy closed the ducks inside, please don't just let animals out without checking with a grownup."
"Okay," she said.

In the end, the ducks returned to the coop and the poop made it into the toilet and the winter-outerwear-laundry-marathon is successfully completed. Oh, and the baby hasn't gone outside again yet.