A Little Tea Party

TEA FOR TWO

(Words by Irving Caesar, Music by Vincent Youmans. 1924)

"Picture you

Upon my knee

Just tea for two

And two for tea,

Just me for you

And you for me. "

Last April, my cousin Debbie and her "little" girl McCall came to Salt Lake City for a visit. Named after our family's favorite getaway in Idaho (see my blog post below), McCall now goes by the adorable pet name of Little. It was Princess Little when she was first born, but like all nicknames that stick, it was eventually shortened over time. And so Little it is!

Before Debbie arrived in town, she called and asked if I would mind babysitting Little while she and the grown-ups attended a play. I typically shy away from babysitting toddlers (especially on a Friday night!), but suddenly visions of combing hair and painting tiny little fingernails was just too good to pass up!

Since Debbie was going to be in Orem for the night, she dropped Little off at my aunt's nearby home. It had been six months since I had last seen Little, so I was expecting her to run the other way when she saw me. (Isn't that what most two-year-olds do when Mom drops them off at a stranger's house?) But quite the opposite occurred. I walked through the front door and she literally jumped in my arms and stayed by my side for the rest of the evening.

As a side note, I should probably mention that Debbie is quite the baker. Her specialty is cupcakes. All kinds, all flavors - they're all deliciously sinful and loaded with love. While she didn't bring her own yummy confections on this visit, she did bring a box of gourmet cupcakes from a little bakery in Scottsdale, AZ, where she lives. What was truly amazing was I just happened to bring the miniature tea set that I got for my birthday. So between the gourmet cupcakes and the pint size tea set, how could we not hold the grandest tea party in all the land?

Here's Little posing in front of her very own tea party. For scale, notice how big the cupcakes are compared to the tiny teacups and saucers!

And here's Little sampling her delectable tea, aka milk. She kept saying,"More tea, please!"

She wasn't too keen on being fed her cupcake. Like all big girls, I mean ladies, she wanted to feed herself...

And so she went for it! Perhaps not the most lady-like, but she's got plenty of time to perfect her etiquette skills.

And like all tea parties, the most important thing is to enjoy one another's company and LAUGH!

Little, I can't wait until our next tea party! Maybe I'll even introduce you to my favorite "tea"! It's a little more bubbly, but it will definitely make you smile!

PK