Daddy Daughter Days

We're already back to my favorite day of the week.  Thursdays with my girls cannot be beat.

Thursdays all pretty much start the same: I change the girls' diapers and bring them into bed with Erin and me.  She nurses Ana, and I give Grace a bottle.  Then we spend a few minutes snuggling in the bed.  Then we move from the bed to the floor to play.  After playing on the floor for a little bit, we go downstairs and eat breakfast.  Erin goes to work, and then the fun starts.

This morning was all about exploring the downstairs of our house.  The girls try to open every cabinet, cupboard and drawer in the kitchen.  Then they go into the dining room to see if they can open the china hutch and play with the napkins and tablecloths.  When they get tired of that, they move to the family room to look out the front window to see what's happening on the street.  They also like to get themselves stuck under the table.  It is very reminiscent of Sixteen Candles.  I see a little Anthony Michael Hall in Ana.

After naps, it is lunch time.  They love being in their high chairs as long as there is food in front of them or their dad to distract them.  I can't get over how efficient Grace can be while she is eating.  She only eats one type of food at a time, she doesn't leave much of anything on her tray and she doesn't really make a huge mess (unless she is tired).

After lunch we had some time to go on a walk and run some errands.  There was gym membership to cancel (we'll get into that tomorrow) and a trip to the grocery store planned.  We were all set to go both in one trip and mix in some exercise while we were doing it.

We got derailed from our plan because of a stupid thorn.  Apparently the tires on our jogging stroller are wafer-thin because a small thorn punctured a hole in the wheel, and it was flattening fast.  I wouldn't be nearly as frustrated by it if I hadn't just changed the inter-tube earlier this week.  So this tube basically lasted less than four days.  Thanks for that.

So a change in plans was in order.

It was off to the sporting goods store to get a patch kit for our inter-tube along with a new tube (you know just in case we roll over a rock or something).  We did some window shopping, but I was careful to keep an eye on Ana with her history.  She did see something she liked, or maybe I'm just projecting on her...

After a grocery run, we came home for a nap.  Mom got home which is always good for some huge smiles.  We all ate dinner together and rolled around on the floor.  Erin let Ana climb up the stairs before when I wasn't here, so she wanted her to show off her climbing skills for her dad.  It was quite awesome.  The only thing that made it better was Grace not wanting to be left behind and figuring it out before our eyes.  She seemed to be cheering herself on with each step.  It even sounded like she said I did it when she got to the top.

Not going to lie, I was choked up a little by it.  Babies have such a capacity to learn which is only matched by their curiosity.  They don't think about what is holding them back.  They just do or at least try to do.  It is inspiring and a reminder to foster that curiosity and give them new things to learn.  They may get frustrated, and they may even fail.  The point is to challenge them, and they'll blossom.

Happy Thursday.  Can't wait until next week.