Painting with a 4-year old

Yesterday I decided to paint the chairs in the patio (this adventure started out with 2 chairs in mind and ended up with only one done) that I had put off forever and ever.  I asked Justin to come out and open the paint can for me and my nephew Joshie followed him out to help because 4-year olds like to help.  Just a few minutes earlier I had suggested that maybe Joshie would like to help Justin clean his bathtub (rather than watch him play video games).  Justin didn't think that was a good suggestion and when he saw Joshie, the paint, the chair, and his loving mom, he concocted an evil plan.  He suggested to Joshie that he might like to help Carrie paint the chair, that would be way more fun than cleaning a bathtub!  Since I'm everyone's favorite aunt, of course I said ok.  Oh, also maybe because I was not thinking...

It started out just fine.  Joshie, of course, filled his paintbrush to overflowing and it dribbled on his foot and the grass on the way to the chair.  Then he leaned his hand into the wet paint while he was reaching for another part of the chair and got all blue.  I told him his dad would think he was turning into Cookie Monster (blue paint) if he kept getting paint all over himself.  While all this is going on I was trying desperately to catch the many, many drips of paint because it was really hot outside and they were drying fast, when, out of the blue I was attacked.  My leg had a big blue patch on it and my little 4-year old nephew was laughing so hard. 

A paint fight ensued.  I will say it went on much, much longer than I had thought it would but how can you get mad at the kiddo when he's clearly having so much fun and his laugh is so merry and true?  Here's the little devious face in question:

You can see it says trouble.  And then I'm trying to ward off another attack.  You might notice that my arms, neck and legs are covered. And it's in my hair. And on my shirt. And my face... I reminded him that we're painting the chair not his favorite aunt Carrie! He just swiped me again.

And now he's supposed to be washing his paint off (he was all too glad to take his shirt off and play in the water while I tried to finish the chair.)

But, you can still see the devious look on his face. This would be when he began plotting his water attack.  With the sprayer that reaches really, really far.

The moral of the story is do not attempt to work on projects when your 4-year old nephew is at your house unless you want to be blue. (Thankfully my 2-year old nephew was napping.  When he woke up he kept looking at me and Joshie then at his hands and telling me, "I don't have bwue on my hands..."  I think he realized he missed out on something...) I'll finish my project later and hope I have enough paint...