Free Lovin'

Ryanne loves everybody these days. Her favorite thing to do right now is "bye bye. Ah dub du" to any and everything. Today, I got as many hugs and kisses as I could ask for. She was more than willing to dish them out, and I loved every one of them. She's a great hugger.

She is also getting more into clean up. She'll put books on the shelf or toys in the bin if I ask her to. She'll also clean up her messes. (Like tonight, she was dumping water from cup to cup - went well small to large, not so well the other way. She cleaned up the spill so no one would slip on the tile. Loved it!) The big one, though, is her diapers. As soon as I'm done wiping her off, she starts yelling "Toe Away." I am lucky to get the new diaper sealed most days before she's grabbed the dirty one and is running for the trash can.

She's learning to blow her nose. Most times, she'll refuse to even try. If you can get her to wrinkle up her nose, though, she'll give you a little blow. This is particularly handy right now as she's battling yet another runny nose. Teething, bad sand at the park - who knows. The tissue, though, gotta throw it away, too.

Her current obsession is bare feet in the car. Most days, I'm lucky to get in the front seat before she's pulling the velcro open on her shoes. Those come off quickly, then the socks. Then the socks go on the hands. Pretty effortlessly, which demonstrates some coordination that I feel I lack some days so I'm impressed. Then she'll wave, fake blow her nose, clap (noiselessly which cracks her up), or just plain goof off with her socks on her hands. We couldn't get her to wear mittens in the snow, but socks on her hands in the spring - sign her up!

Today we went swimming. She kicked til she could barely move her legs. She loved being in the floaties. I let her go a couple of times so she could really experience just being in the water. I was right there, but I let her know I wasn't holding her. She'd kick a bit and propel herself forward a bit. Loved that! She showed her typical new place apprehension, but warmed quickly and was giggling and cheering by the end. I even got a bonus fit when it was time to stop playing with the toys and get out - go me!

Yesterday, we went to her gym playgroup for the first time in over a month. She actually cried when the lady first came up to her. Now, this is the kid that loves everyone. Strangers in the park are allowed to hold her, yet she CRIED on my shoulder when we got there. Not sure what was wrong with it, but it took her most of the first hour to warm up to the place and end up laughing and running around with the rest of the kids. Maybe it's because her naps were messed up so we could go to the bigger kid class. Maybe it's that she's feeling a little under the weater. Maybe the lady is just TOO in her face. Maybe it's just been too long since we've been there. All I know is that I hope she's better there next week - I felt so bad for her.