Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Oh happy day

Well, the week may have started off rather crappy, but I've gotta tell you that today was one of the most fun days I've had with Kaylee in a long time.

Last night I took care of bills and did some laundry, so all I had to do today was get myself ready and head on out the door with Kaylee (and her entourage of necessities) in tow.

Our plan was to go to the play center at the mall. I think I should have written a post in itself about overcoming that fear. Up to this point, I've kept her away from there for a few reasons.

1. I was afraid of her getting mauled by the bigger kids.

2. Who knows how often they actually clean that stuff. Gives me the heeby jeebies.

3. Let's say some kid crapped his pants, put his hands down his drawers while he's in the fake log tunnel and then starts playing on the rubber bridge and cracked out mushrooms with his crap-covered hands. Then my child, who puts everything in her mouth, eats his poop.

Now do you see why I didn't ever take her before today???

Well, I overcame the poop fear. We went to the playground inside the mall, and Kaylee had the time of her life. She seemed a little tentative at first and gave me these looks as if to ask me if it was really okay that she was playing on such fun stuff. So, I got down there with her for a few minutes and acted like an utter fool, just so she would know I approved.

Then she took off faster than a herd of turtles and didn't slow down, except to allow her pint-sized admirers to gaze upon her cuteness (see below).

I just sat back and watched her and reveled in every minute of it.

She is such a little social butterfly. The older kids would go running by her and she'd go from sitting back to a kneeling up and yelling, "Tsa! Tsa!" as they went past.

Later, more girls showed up, ranging from about age 3 to age 5. They adored Kaylee, and the feeling was quite mutual. She'd pat their heads, play with their hair, poke their faces, and they just sat there and grinned. They'd come back and give little reports to me...

"Your baby is right there." "Your baby is a girl." "Your baby touched my hair." "Your baby likes me."

Classic moment of the day was when she lunged at a cute little 5-year-old, put her arms around her and gave her a hug. Melted my heart right there on the spot.

So, that alone sounds like a great day, right?

Well, that isn't even the half of it. Before all above mentioned fun, we slept in a little bit, got ready for our day, played around the house, and managed to make it through Wal-Mart without needing therapy by the time we hit the exit.

Then we ate lunch at a quaint little sandwich shop by the mall. Kaylee was much more interested in shredding my napkin and putting the pieces on the floor than eating a sandwich and soup. But oh well.

And. Brace yourselves. I exercised a skill that I learned way back in kindergarten. I made new friends. Aren't you proud? I met two really fun moms and we're hoping to have a play date in the near future.

It was a really fun and satisfying day.

I wish I'd taken this approach (of playing during the day and doing house crap after Dennis gets home) a long time ago, but it's better late than never, right?

Today we conquered the mall playground. Tomorrow - it's story time at the library, and my baby takes after her mama and doesn't know when to be quiet, so that should be fun.

Wish us luck.

Oh, and thank you so much for all your sweet comments and words of encouragement after my earlier post. You readers are just the bomb shizzle - did you know that? You are. :)

4 comments:

Deb said...

that sounds so fun! it really is sweet to see kids interact with each other! can't wait to hear about the library! remember--shhhhhhh!

Kelly said...

It sounds like y'all had a terrific girls day! I did not "go out" by myself with my daughter until she was almost 2. You are a brave one and you made friends..Congrats!

sassy stephanie said...

She...she loves you. You get to have fun with her!

Jenners said...

Oh...this is so great! Isn't it the best to see them blossom and interact with other kids? I love it! I'm so happy for you! And making new mom friends? Good for you ... there is nothing better than to share it with others and let the kids learn how to play nicely together. And your poop fear was so specific and totally cracked me up!

 
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