The Soft Gym

A walk to get some adult beverages and Milky Way

 Since I've started working and Amos hasn't been traveling I've learned to appreciate weekends much more. No longer are they stress-inducing due to Amos's absence or soccer games, but instead they feel like extended vacations (I have two whole days to just be with Louisa and Amos is here to help?!). After the disappointment that was music class on Saturday (I need to send an email to the organizer), my friend Crysten and her boyfriend came over to hang out with Louisa while Amos and I went to a movie. Know that the fact that I've seen one nominated movie this year completely depresses me and makes me question what kind of art-lover I've become. I usually see everything including all the shorts! Ugh!

Anyway, I was told Nebraska was better than Inside Llewyn Davis so we decided to go to Nebraska. It was fine, sweet, a bit funny and endearing but not wonderful although the matriarch was quite wonderful. I was reminded by Chad that Alexander Payne tends to make movies that appeal more to men (Sideways was awful as far as I was concerned - ugh) so maybe we should have chosen a different film. But it was worth returning to the cinema, watching previews and fantasizing about what we will see next (American Hustle?). Plus, Louisa loves Crysten and having a visitor that is not her mom or dad gives Louisa some variety that I always fear she is lacking. Of course, since Crysten's visit Louisa has talked about her endlessly. Just the other day at the park we had to sing Happy Birthday to her.

(NOTE! I have no clue how to upload videos to this!)

Sunday, Louisa and I visited a horse barn at Rock Creek Park. A friend from work takes lessons here and invited us to watch. The barn felt familiar for both Louisa and me. Of course, Louisa did call out for Teri a few times when watching the class and was quite put-off when I told her she couldn't get on a horse. Although the barn is much different from Fir Hollow (I'm thinking they won't be allowing my toddler on a horse anytime soon), the instruction requires the development of a number of skills beyond my current abilities which is a good thing. These classes are hunter-jumper oriented and I haven't jumped since college, so I'm excited to start.

As Sarah gave us a tour of the barn after her lesson, Louisa strutted around, clucking and talking to the horses as if it were Fir Hollow. It was clear to Sarah how comfortable Louisa was in a barn setting and I was very pleased with how easy Louisa fell into her barn routine. I'm sure she will be a Rodeo Queen someday!

Appropriately, when we got home, Amos and Teensy were watching Rodeo Girls on A&E. You should probably watch it.

 

Yesterday, Louisa and I went to a "soft gym" at a nearby community center. Watching Louisa navigate these situations is most entertaining. The gym had an area full of balls where Louisa would lie down and talk about napping. This encouraged other kids to join her and there would be multiple toddlers rolling around in the balls. Then she'd leave, "out, mommy? out?" and run around the gym shouting "ahhhhh!" with her hands in the air. She climbed some steps and walked back and forth over a platform until two older girls discovered her. For 20 minutes they carried her around like a baby. LJ would just flop around with them as if she couldn't walk, loving every minute of it. When they girls left, Louisa wept and called out "friends! friends!" which of course broke my heart, but she rallied within thirty seconds and found others to play with. It is amazing to me Louisa's confidence and independence in situations like this. She will play with other kids if it suits her but also has no problem simply playing on her own. She sat in this little cube periodically where she wanted me to cover her up so she could "take a nap!" then would bounce out looking for other things to do.

For dinner last night we had pizza from Whole Foods (2 for 1 on Tuesdays!) and salad. Although I usually make broccoli or peas for Louisa's greens, she found the salad particularly enticing last night and spent most of dinner trying to stab spinach leaves with her fork. It was pretty exciting.

We've started a new sleep routine with LJ and are trying to stick to it so we have some time on our own at night (mainly to catch up on good tv - so behind on Revenge and Nashville!). I cuddle her on the couch for a while, bring her up to her room, read some books then listen to her CD ("Mah-ee-mah, Mommy?"). Eventually I lay her in her crib where she lies patiently and watches me until I get antsy and go downstairs. Then she screams. It's not ideal and I am eager to get to the point where she will comfortably fall asleep. But I am not a huge fan of letting babies cry. At least last night we were able to hang out for 30 minutes and finish the most recent episode of Downton (really upsetting - WTF?).