Fun Times With Fiona

The last few days with Fiona have been especially fun. On Monday, my dad and I attempted the hike to the seal sanctuary that I botched before. It turns out the hike is really short. Fiona enjoyed it and we saw lots of chubby, cute seals. They looks like rocks when they lie around. There were mamas and babies, all lolling around on the beach, occasionally playing in the surf. Fiona rode back to the car in the Ergo, smiling all the while.

Tuesday, Fiona enjoyed lunch outside. I needed to time to work on a paper that was due, so my dad occupied her by feeding her leftover chilaquiles.

 

We spent some time in the garden, where she reprimanded me for not digging correctly, then insisted I pick up a piece of grass that was in one of the planters and throw it in the dirt pile. She’s a bossy little gardener, that one.

We attempted a walk to the park, but Fiona had a big meltdown on the way. She had a short nap, so she was still tired and a little cranky, and she was having trouble pushing the stroller in a forward direction. So we came home again, me carrying Fiona while she screamed and cried, people walking past us on the street. It was definitely fun times.

After playing and reading a while, I decided to take Fiona for a drive to get her to nap a little, but she wasn’t sleeping so we explored a new and wonderful beach instead. It was so much fun! We squealed and giggled at the cold water, ran around, and help hands while we walked and looked at rocks and shells. When we left, Fiona waved goodbye to the waves and the sand and the rocks, and said “Bye Bye! Bye!” repeatedly.

My dad met us at home and played with Fiona while I worked on a project. She had a great day and spent a lot of time running around, screeching and laughing.

Today we went to a farm where you can pick vegetables and fruits. We didn’t do that, but we spent a lot of time looking at animals. It was sunny and warm, so Fiona put on my hat:

Then she played with water and got her sleeve wet:

Looking at goats:

Emus:

A HUMUNGOUS pig:

Highland cattle:

Horses:

Fiona discovered a tunnel:

 

There were two of them. She went through and then came up around the hill to go back in. She had fun running up and down the hill.

Ugh, she discovered stairs:

On the other side was a slide. She fell down the stairs trying to get to it. She cried for about 30 seconds, then 30 seconds more until I released her so she could go back to it. She went down twice, but it was a little bit too big and too fast for her. More tears were shed.

We watched an animal show. Fiona got to pet a rabbit (and she says “bunny” now), a duck, a rooster, a pig, and a big dog. She really enjoyed it and was very happy. She played in a sandbox and had fun tossing sand up in the air. It was fun to wash it out later that night. Please note the sarcasm in that last statement. It was NOT fun to wash the sand out of her hair. She fell asleep in the car on the way home while I sang to her.

Before we left, Fiona tried to ride a tricycle, rode in a big wagon, helped me purchase fruit, and rode a pony:

We were not alone in our adventure. My friend Kaitlyn and her daughter joined us. Actually, the whole trip was Kaitlyn’s idea, so it’s probably more accurate to say we joined them:

In addition to all the fun, Fiona has begun to say “my mommy” and “my daddy” when asked who we are. She also knows how to make sounds for a horse, a cow, a dog, a cat, an elephant, a tiger, a lion, an owl, a monkey, knows gorillas beat their chests, knows the sounds of the Wild Things, dinosaurs, sheep and goats, pretend cries, pretend laughs (says “ha ha”), and my mom thinks she says “good job” although it sounds more like “boo ja”. In short, lots of talking happening around these parts lately.

Fiona is such a joy and she gets more and more fun each day. Right now, she is sleeping soundly. Hopefully she will stay that way until at least six tomorrow morning, but not so late that I don’t get to see her before I go to work.