Where's the camera?

It was a beautiful day today, especially when we got home from work. It was nice and cool and breezy, more like a fall day than summer. We hadn't been to the playground in awhile because we don't like going when its super hot. So we got home from work and off to the playground we went.

Doug has taken Allie to playgrounds a few times when I've been busy with other things. So it came as a surprise to me to see her playing so independently! Not so much on the playground equipment, no, she was more interested in swishing the rocks around and climbing one step and going down. But she just ran and ran and acted like she owned the place. I wished I had brought the camera to take a few pictures and document the difference I saw in her today versus how she was the very first time we went to that playground earlier this spring.

We came home from the playground and gave her a quick dinner. She seemed tired since she hasn't napped well the last few days. She stayed up playing in her crib for almost an hour though! We talked at the playground about giving her a bath after dinner and Dada went up to start the bath and Allie started asking for the bath! Every day she's showing off new skills. Things that make Doug and I ask each other, "Where did she learn to do that?"

In the car on the way home from work she likes to sing. She kind of grunts and we sing the ABCs or The Wheels on the Bus. She asks us to sing more before we've even finished the song! She sings along too, in her gibberish. Dada is better and figuring out what she's saying than Mama is though. We also count to 5 and she counts some numbers with us if she's in the mood. Even if she doesn't count she'll put her fingers up like Mama and Dada do.

She really likes this pink water bottle that I have. It can't be anywhere in her sights or she fixates on it and won't give up until she has it. I can't drink out of a water bottle in the car either or else she cries for it... and promptly dumps the water all over herself.

Its just funny the things that Allie picks up on. She was enjoying the ride to the playground in the stroller and I asked her if she likes the wind in her hair. She smiled this beaming smile looking upside down at me and put her hands in her hair and shook her head. So cute!

I remember when Allie was only a few weeks old, people coming to see her and telling me to cherish this time because they don't stay small for long. They were right. As much as I'd like her to, this kid isn't staying small forever. At least Doug and I get the pleasure of seeing her learn new things and make new discoveries every day. This is why I became a Mama, for the moments like these.