Friday was another gorgeous, thank goodness Spring is finally here kind of day! We decided to head back up to our favorite beach, this time with Nonni.
Maia was thrilled to be back on the sand and in the sun. The waves were some of the biggest we've ever seen there, though there weren't any surfers taking advantage. Maia had a great time saying hello to the Ocean...
Playing with the sea toys washed up on the sand...
Testing how bouncy the sand was...
Walking with a purpose in the fresh air...
Saying goodbye to the ocean...
And being a happy kid...
After our fun in the sun, we headed into the adorable town nearby for some lunch and some shopping. We found a lovely little baby shop, and Mommy finally found some great baby gear she's been hunting for- namely the magical Sleep Sheep. When Maia was born, I resisted any and all sleep aids, figuring sleep is a natural state, and I didn't want her to be dependant on anything. Nearly three years later... she's pretty dependant on me. And so, we'll try some tried true and tested techniques with Evie. We went back to our favorite Mexican restaurant for some yummy lunch, and then Maia had the thrill of getting to play on a great playground with Nonni while Mommy desperately searched for some new (and fashionable sandals). No luck on the sandals, but Maia had a blast climbing, sliding, and playing with the other kids out enjoying the gorgeous weather. She was beyond tired when we finally made it back to the car, and I was sure she would take a wonderful nap on the way home... ha ha ha, shows what I know! She sang songs, chatted merrily, and generally proved once again that she is our little Energizer Bunny.
Gritty was desperate to enjoy some of the gorgeous weather when we got home, so we plunked Maia in the stroller and headed out for our power walk. In general, Gritty is a wonderful dog. He's incredibly sweet and loving, and excellent with Maia and any other kids we have around. There are two occasions, however, when he seems to turn into another dog altogether... let's call him Monster Dog. Monster Dog appears, more often than not, when we go for these afternoon power walks. He is characterized by constant whining and barking for at least the first 2/3s of the walk, and terrible behaviour whenever we meet another canine creature. Daddy always reminds me that in the first instance, Gritty isn't trying to be Monster Dog, he's just incredibly excited. I appreciate that... and yet, the looks one gets when one's dog is barking and whining for no discernible reason... The latter behaviour, trouble when we meet other dogs, is definitely something we need to work on... anyone know how to add some hours to the day?!
Maia took an all too brief 25 minute nap in the stroller, and woke up very off-kilter. She ate a decent dinner, and then Mommy decided it was time for bed. Ay yi yi... it was one of the most difficult bedtimes we've had in ages. She was so wound up from all the excitement and fresh air... I was sure she would go instantly to sleep. I'll say it again... ha ha ha! She was very chatty for a while, and then finally wound down and seemed on the verge of sleep... only to pop right up bright eyed and ready to play. She literally took 2 hours and 15 minutes to finally settle into sleep... I think a new record. She did sleep well overnight, and woke up yesterday morning thrilled to head to Little Gym with Daddy, which, by all accounts, was another successful adventure.
The late morning brough the arrival of Grammy and Grampy, and Mommy's dear friend, K. The ladies were coming to join me at a baby shower being thrown for me (and Evie) by another wonderful friend, Kristen; and Grampy decided to help Daddy out in the entertain the toddler department.
The shower was lovely, and a wonderful way to celebrate the impending arrival of our new little girl. We had a delicious lunch, complete with some great conversation. I was very touched by the beautiful and thoughtful gifts we received, particularly the beautiful baby sling from Nonni and the awesome car seat from Grammy. Wait a minute... shouldn't we already have a car seat???? I mean... we have been through this once before, and not that long ago...
Anyone who knows me knows that I really like to research pretty much anything to do with parenting. (When the pregnancy test showed positive this time around, I ordered pretty much every sleep book they had at Amazon, and have spent the last 37 weeks reading each and trying to formulate a plan!) When I was pregnant with Maia, I researched every car seat on the market, looking at safety, recommendations from other parents, etc. I finally decided on the #1 safest car seat on the market. (Once again, wonderful Grammy came through and got it as my shower gift.) I had a few friends who suggested I might want to get the more popular and #2 safety rated car seat, but I had done the research. From the moment we put 2-day-old Maia into it to head home from the hospital, she hated it! I'm not sure I can stress how much she hated it... for 8 months she cried for literally every car ride, whether it was five minutes to the grocery store or a few hours to visit family. Not once did she ever fall asleep! We were shocked... and it never occured to us it might be the car seat. We figured we just had a kid who hated the car. At 8 months we bought a convertible car seat, and moved her out of the infant seat. She still didn't love the car, but things improved considerably.
Not long after, K. and I took Maia and Abby on an outing together, and Abby rode in Maia's old infant seat. Abby has always loved the car, and has always slept fabulously in it. Lo and behold, she screamed bloody murder for half an hour, each way. I started to wonder if maybe, in fact, it was the seat... After taking two other little friends for rides in it, and having both of them cry without stopping, I was convinced- it had to be the seat.
And so, I've been struggling this entire pregnancy with whether or not to replace the car seat. Daddy wasn't so interested in doing so... we already have a safe seat, etc., etc. And yet... he gets to go to work while I drive kids around. And this new kid... well she's going to spend a lot more time in the car than Maia ever did. Unless I wanted to listen to months and months of misery, it was time to do more research. And now, we are well equipped with the #2 saftey-rated car seat, that is univerally beloved by parents and hopefully all babies. Thanks Grammy! And thank you again to Kristen and all of our wonderful friends for the lovely afternoon!
Back to the entertain the toddler department... Daddy had the awesome idea to take Maia and Grampy mini-golfing! By all accounts, it was an enormous success. Maia LOVED it, and developed her own special technique of playing. Whenever Daddy or Grampy hit the ball, she would immediately jump onto the green, chase the ball down, and plunk it right into the hole. I don't know if Daddy and Grampy have ever been so pleased with their golf scores! (Sadly, Daddy didn't bring our camera, so we'll have to go again to get some photos up of the fun.) They took her out for a yummy lunch of grilled cheese, and then on some guy errands- Lowe's and Circuit City, woo woo! We all arrived home around the same time, and after a nice visit, Grammy and Grampy headed home.
It was early bedtimes for Mommy and Maia, though Daddy stayed up to cheer on the Bruins. It's a great year to be a Boston sports fan...
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