Getting Out

I tend to stick around the house most of my days because, well, it's easier.  It's a controlled environment, and Olivia is happy to play in her safe zones (Family room, nursery).  I prefer running errands alone during naptime because it takes twice as long if I have to get her in and out of the carseat and feed her goldfish and find her shoes that she dropped somewhere back there.  But sometimes it's a long time between Steve's work-from-home days or I have work to finish, and I wind up getting tired of being at home.  And now that we've dropped the morning nap it's a much bigger window of opportunity to go somewhere with Olivia.  On Monday we went to Target and Olivia didn't like being contained in the cart, so I bribed her with goldfish (actually gold bunnies, as Pepperidge Farm apparently has a copyright on yellow fish crackers).  Yesterday we went to the mall, probably the first time since Christmas pictures.  Olivia, aided by a steady stream of Kix, did great in the stroller and I was able to find her some summer clothes on sale.  We also went to Costco, something I apparently have never done with her because I never noticed their double-child carts.  Livi busied herself trying to buckle the other strap while I shopped.

Clothes.  Up until now I've found most of what we've needed to clothe our child from thrift stores.  I'm kind of proud of it.  I'm sure some of you are horrified.  The clothes for sale are in good condition and barely worn because babies grow so quickly.  Plus I'm supporting the local hospice even though I'm only spending $2-3 per item (or less when it's half-off-kids'-clothing day).  But I'm starting to realize there's a smaller selection now that we're into larger sizes, which makes me sad. 

The other night Olivia woke up every few minutes after going to bed, and I finally realized (damp hair) that her fleece footed sleeper may be -- ahem -- a little much for warm weather.  I have found it hard to believe that while I sleep with blankets pulled up to my chin, little ones don't need all that even with the air conditioning on.  So Monday's trip to Target was in search of summer pj's and I raided the clearance rack, which in my book is one step below the thrift store.  And then the consignment stores or the mall, which is another step down because now I'm paying $7 for something I paid $2 for last year, and that's when I can find it on sale.  I refuse to pay retail for anything unless we really need it.  (Pay retail=fail)  Yesterday's trip to the mall was to find a pair of patchwork-plaid shorts we'd seen while in San Francisco, but apparently I waited too long because they were no longer at our store.  (Alas, I found them online on clearance - it pays to procrastinate!)

Today we needed groceries. (I woke up with a scratchy throat - thank you, pollen - and couldn't find any lozenges so I determined this to be grocery day.)  Olivia likes the grocery store because she gets so much attention and there is a lot to look at.  But on the way to the store I remembered Cherie saying she took Olivia to the park while we were on vacation.  So we took a detour and swung by the park to see what kind of play equipment they have.  When we pulled in we were the only ones there for a few minutes, but it was like universal playtime because people trickled in every few minutes.  I recognized one of my friends from growing up here, and another gal was someone I knew of but hadn't met.  (That always makes my day.  It's a smallish town, but big enough that I only see people I know once in a while.)  She and her friend brought three kids, all under two, so although the younger ones needed supervision they all had fun on the jungle gym.  She greeted another little girl by walking up and patting her on the back, but Olivia didn't share well.  There was one spot where they play with pipes to make music and if another kid played on the other end she'd swat him away.  Olivia loved the slide, tried the stairs, but didn't want anything to do with the swing.  I'm adding "park" to the list of "things to do when Mommy is bored with blocks" this summer.  Also on the list: the pool.  Playdate anyone?

Stairs.  Olivia doesn't do stairways yet, mostly because I'm too scared to teach her.  She was able to crawl up stairs before she could walk, but getting down is the hard part.  We have a straight run of stairs with hardwood at the bottom, and our brave unaware child would walk right off the edge of a cliff if allowed.  My parents have taught her to hold onto the doorway when going up and down their single step, but OJ walks like a toy soldier so the "step down" often ends in her rolling onto the floor.  Or else she's holding onto the doorframe with both hands and creeeeeping down.  So at the park today we practiced turning around and crawling down the stairs. 

Other Olivia news... 

• She twirls, turning around and around until she has to cling to something because she's dizzy.  It makes me want to make her a big, full skirt, but she's growing so fast that making clothes is not worth it for me yet.
• She says, "Hi!" every time she sees Riley and sometimes when she sees new people.  She says a lot of other things, too, but it's not English.
• She has started waving hello to people (as well as goodbye).  
• She likes to take her shoes off, and immediately wants to put them on again.  Once she dropped on on our walk so Steve retraced our route in the car, and he found it!  Livi puts a lot of things on her feet.