Forced to enjoy the nice weather

I would normally be at work on a Wednesday, but daycare was closed so I got to stay home with Pumpkin. The day started pretty traumatic as she fell out of her crib. Ouch. Her crib has several settings and apparently we need to go down to the bottom now. I knew this time was coming soon, but didn't think she actually had the strength to haul herself over the crib at this time. Lesson learned. Sorry kiddo.

After recovering from that it has been a pretty great day. We have spent a lot of time outside as it is a beautiful, sunny day here in MN. Seeing it was below freezing on Monday AND I saw flurries I wasn't sure what would happen for the rest of the week. Yeah for sun and warmth!

We took a long stroller ride with a stop at a local park. My city has a ton of great parks. It seems that you only need to walk several blocks to find another park. Today I thought we would try the swing again. This has been a hit or miss experience for us in the past so I wasn't sure what to expect.

 

 

 

It's a hit!

She loved it for about 30 seconds and then decided she was terrified. Fine. We'll move on to something else. I decided to try out the slide. Every time we have been to the park recently they have been wet so it has been a long time since she tried this one out - say a year. And when I say I am going to try the slide for her I mean WE are going down the slide together. Luckily for her there were stairs up to the slide. Of course, there would be stairs... but for a child who recently mastered crawling up the stairs this is pure delight. In fact, we have gone to the park and the only thing she wants to do is walk up and down the stairs as she holds on to my hands.

So up the stairs we go to the slide. I sit down, put her on my lap, and build up the momentum by counting to three before sliding down the slide. Apparently, the slide is AWESOME! I wish I could have recorded it as she would giggle each time we slid down. I wish I would have even taken a picture of this, but obviously this was a bit difficult when I was required to go down the slide with her.

Like most kids she is fascinated by other kids. A couple little boys started playing on the slide as well and she could not keep her eyes off them. I am sure she was taking note of their super slide moves for when she tackles this skill on her own.

We played for a little longer, but needed to get home for lunch and eventual nap.

Not happy

Leaving the park did not go over well, but I was able to distract her with snacks.

My husband is the one who usually gets to take her on an afternoon stroll (while I am still at work) and he has informed me that she is all about grubbing while being pushed around town. What a little Diva.

After eating we went outside to play again. For some reason she would only crawl towards the 'Danger Zones' aka the street and the alley. It was like she knew they were off limit. "Oh, I'm not supposed to go this way?" I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.Oh, I know that she will want to assert her Independence, but I hope she isn't stubborn by nature.

I then brought her inside only to bring her out on our second story deck.We have a great deck right off our bedroom that we hope to update the railings on one day and perhaps add some source of shading. I see lots of playtime out here in the future so I not only want to make it look nice, but also make sure it is safe. This is also a haven for the cats. They love it here and can even access the roof for additional space to roam around. I am pretty sure we are known as the house with the cats on the roof. Occasionally, I will look out a window to see people pointing at my roof. Cats.

It was becoming apparent that my child was getting tired at this point so I brought her inside only to jump on the bed. Ugh, what kind of parent am I to get her all riled up before nap time? I just decided to take advantage of the moment. After more giggles ensued I tried to create a quiet time by reading before nap time. Down she went...only to sit and 'talk' in her crib for a long time. At this time the husband came home and we decided to get her up and try later with the nap.

So here I am now writing this during her nap that eventually did happen! She is currently making noise so I think she will be getting up soon.

Once she wakes I think we might have to go outside again to take full advantage of this beautiful day.