Random Thoughts Tuesday

She is ginormous, look at how big and grown up she has gotten. She loves to go outside and play in the park and the grass and she will pound on the front door and bring me my shoes and try to get me to take her out when she has the hankering. I worry for when she grows a few more inches and can reach the door handle. It is a simple lever so it won't be hard for her to open, we will have to install something new.Once she heads out the door she is ready to "Go, go, go" I am trying to teach her to wait and not go down the steps and I tell her edge, but now she is doing this thing where she pushes and tests her limits. I say Holly Edge, and she gives me this mischievously look like, well I know I should sit and scoot but perhaps I should just take my foot and dangle it over the edge. Of course when we are talking about my steps that's not a good thing. So I often hold her hand and sometimes I have to yell no.The other day at the park Holly was playing with Daddy. Mommy was tired from a long day and napping int he park for a few minutes on our way home from picking him up at work. They were swinging at first and then they took a break. She was wandering around and then got so excited she ran back towards him and the edge of where the bouncy turf and the sand meet up. Joel told her Edge I think, but she wasn't watching where she was going or listening to him, and she stumbled right over.It's an incline so she mostly slid down the side and fell to her butt, but then she kinda twisted and then made a little face plant and got herself a mouth full of sand. It sounds so mean to say it out loud but, "It Served Her Right" She needs to start and learn that she has to be careful and that there are consequences to her actions. Of course she isn't really going to learn this now, but it was ironic that she fell in a way that she couldn't get hurt but just made her very mad, when I was particularly worn by her pushing her limits and not listening when I told her to be careful at the edge.A friend of mine told me about how she cooked Chard for herself and her husband with a little bit of garlic and butter and then took the rest and pureed it. She said her Son loved it and ate it all the time. So since we get greens all the time in the veggie box I decided to have Joel make some for her. He later told me that it was actually Kale, which is not nearly as sweet as Chard, but regardless she hated it. It was pretty gritty and the flavor was strong, but it was all I could do to get her to eat it. She took a few bites and on maybe the third or forth she spit it up.Over the next few days I tried to get her to eat it by mixing it with Green beans, Sweet Potatoes, Yogurt. We got through one full container but I didn't have the heart to try and coarse her to keep eating it when she already seems to be outgrowing purees and she truly disliked it. We unfortunately have three more containers frozen in the freezer, but I am going to give them to Sarah.Holly is such an active little goblin she sometimes resists her naps for hours. She gets sleepy after therapy but when I try to get her to lay down to rest she is bouncing off the walls. She will drink her bottle and then jump up when she is finished and try and do somersaults on the bed. So I often take her out front to literally run around in circles on the grass. The other day I saw outside were a few little kids playing, so I rushed out letting Holly stay in her PJ's and quickly made friends. Holly is usually happy to play on her own, but having the opportunity to follow around other little tots is her favorite past time.There were two brothers, one just a few months younger then Holly and the other almost three. They were with there aunt and her daughter also almost three. There Mom was sick and she had driven down from Sacramento to help out for the day. They were exploring and had no agenda and when we came out to play they were climbing trees and picking flowers. We had a lot of fun hanging out and chatting and running through the grass for almost an hour, and then she was indeed ready for a nap.We have been going out to eat a lot more recently because holly is so good at restaurants if we take heed to not linger too long and keep her entertained. This is much easier to do if we arrive when she is hungry, as feeding her our food is a really good way to entertain her. We of course also mostly go to very inexpensive places that are kid friendly, but after a long work day it is nice to not have to cook, and with take-out there is still trash and dishes and mess, so going out lets us spend a lot of quality time together, all three share a meal and gives Joel a chance to take a break. The other day we went to public market and this is what we found.Why yes, that is a giant ball pit tucked away and hidden in a place we have been to a hundred times and never discovered before. Holly was in baby Heaven. It is actually between the Gyro and Slushy place right where we sit almost every time we go, but it is around a little corner, actually behind the slushies, and there was also this tiny quarter carousel also. Technically the ball pit was for children 35-45 inches and Holly is only about 31 or so yet Mommy isn't one for following the rules so I sat on the side and let her play and kept an eye out for the big kids. It took her a bit of time to get used the enormity of it all and the first time we went she stayed close and simply watched the older kids. But mostly it is just amazing that there is a FREE and GIANT ball pit just around the corner from our house, a place open until 9:00 PM and it has food for the Parent's. How Awesome is that!The other place we have been a few times for dinner is bay street. Cheap slices at Pizza My Heart, a Burger at Fudruckers, a taco from Rubio's and a huge courtyard for the little one to toddler and explore. Did I forget to mention there is a cold stone there too.. Yum Yum. On this particular night there was a concert on the green, which happens on occasion, these are really just people playing music, and a few people will gather, sit, maybe dance. The kids were having a blast. After the did tear down the kids also enjoyed walking around on the stage.Now that Holly is mobile she is headed towards phase two... Running. The good thing about this place is that there are no cars and a big open area for her to walk around in. I recently purchased something from a friend of mine called the "Todd Le Go" which is a Wrist to Wrist Toddler Holder. Velcro and Button on my wrist and her's and then a scrunchy like stretch connecting us varying between 38 and 60 inches. This allows her to run around and "Go, go, go" but stay connected to mommy. This is of course in theory because I have only just gotten this from my friend who makes them and haven;t had a lot of opportunity to try it out. Holly is not a fan of having something on her wrist, so I have to keep allowing her an opportunity to get used to it so that I will be able to use it soon. And with that, I hope you enjoyed today's Edition of "Random Thoughts Tuesday"