- Chloe has always said the most interesting things in that space of time between sleep and full wakefulness. This morning, through a hazy blur, I was awakened to her happily chirping “It’s a sunny day!” I looked at the window, and it was indeed a sunny day. The most interesting part of this whole story is she’s taken to saying this every morning, even when it’s overcast. It got me to thinking about childlike simplicity. Chloe wakes each morning with a fresh new outlook, never allowing yesterday or the weather forecast to hamper her day. She’s gonna have fun no matter what. If we could all take on a little bit of the character of a child, and wake each morning saying “it’s a sunny day”, just imagine the shape your day could take.
- Since it was indeed a sunny day, we went for a family bike ride. Little Bailey didn’t go, but the rest of us did. It was a great outing. Chloe rode on her seat that Ben had bolted to his bike frame. She wore her new princess helmet. I couldn’t help but beam with pride over how cute she looked strapped in that seat, complete with helmet, and holding a huge water bottle. Marlie rode her new bike we got her for her Birthday. I always stayed behind her for safety purposes, and she frightened me numerous times. She drives a bicycle similar to a drunk driver, overcompensating turns and dodging obstacles. I thought multiple times she would crash and burn, but in actuality she only crashed once after trying to drive on algae in a culvert. Ben and I did pretty good for old folks. I won’t promise that we won’t feel the hills tomorrow though.
- Bailey opted out of the bike ride for obvious reasons. We were blessed enough to have a sitter for our sunny day adventure. Bailey was in a grand mood as we readied for our ride, but as we peddled away, I could hear her crying loudly. One thing I’ve discovered this time around the baby track is that you’ll never get it completely figured out. First off, each baby is different. And secondly, babies are bi-polar creatures anyway. I say that with complete love and in no offense to the emotionally and/or psychologically challenged. I couldn’t completely figure out my baby if my life depended on it. I mean, I do good with her, and better than anyone else. But really, it’s still just a guessing game. You just get better at guessing as you go along. The sitter asked, “What do you think was bothering her? Do you think she’s hungry?” A lot of times, Moms will state matter of factly some cause of the child’s behavior. We’ll state it confidently enough, but in reality, we have no idea! How can you possibly decipher the code that is baby behavior. Even the most routined baby will fall outside the schedule at times. Even the best behaved and mild tempered infant will throw a crying jag for no apparent reason. Hungry, sleepy, wet, bored, gassy, teething?! Who really knows. And guess what? Just when you think you know, those little sneaky babes will throw you a curve ball and send your entire hypothesis crashing down. Sometimes I think Timmy understood Lassie better than I understand my children. But I have to admit, there is no better guessing game I would rather play, because no prize for the right answer is better than a smiling, happy, or sleeping baby.
That is all 🙂