Some Days...

....are destined to go badly from the start. Don't get me wrong, I've definitely had worse days. And compared to some, this day was a walk in the park. Yesterday Brooke woke up at 6:30 and I woke up with a cold and my head feeling like it was 2 sizes too big. Not a good combination. Since I was sick I decided not to go for a walk like I usually do each morning. Instead, I loaded up Brooke and went down to my school to do some work in my classroom. I brought snacks, toys, Baby Einstein DVDs, everything I thought I would need to keep Brooke happy. Apparently Brooke wasn't feeling it. Less than 10 minutes in, I hear Brooke making her "yummy" noises. I turn around and find her drinking from my can of diet coke. As I rush over to grab it from her, she starts running away--can in hand, sloshing it all over herself and the carpet (sorry janitors). I finally get the can away from her and a huge meltdown commences. There is nothing that can make her happy--except emptying out her entire pack of goldfish crackers and stepping on them (again, sorry school). By that time I figure it's time to go. Blake was still sleeping so I knew I couldn't go home quite yet (Brooke hasn't mastered the meaning of the word "quiet"). So I went for a drive up the canyon. It was beautiful and seemed to calm both Brooke and I down. Maybe a little too much. I look back and see that Brooke has that too relaxed look on her face. I hurry and flip a u-turn all the while chanting "don't fall asleep" all the way home. Who knew a 5 minute nap could do so much damage?! Because of that little cat nap, when it was really Brooke's nap time a few hours later she didn't want to sleep. That led to a later nap, which lead to waking up after 6pm and going to bed super late that night. That all made for a very long day!

Today I think I handled things much better & it literally was a walk in the park:
Instead of dragging Brooke to my school again (I don't know what I was thinking yesterday) we loaded up and went to one of our favorite parks in town.

I love how Brooke likes to carry my bag

We relaxed on a blanket and Brooke played to her heart's content

Then came home for some play-time in the backyard. Brooke found this piece of floss while I was getting her changed into her swim-suit and it kept her entertain all afternoon:

Guess how big this swim shirt is? It's a 4T!! Isn't that insane? You would think that shirt would be drowning her. I think Old Navy's sizes must be off because there is no way Brooke wears that size in her normal clothes.

If you had any doubts about whether we live in the country or not, this picture should clear that up! Every year the alfalfa field behind the house gets mowed and baled. Brooke was terrified of the tractor. Every time it would pass by the house she would run from the pool and sit on my lap.And I'm happy to report that Brooke went to bed at her normal bedtime tonight. Three cheers for that! Although I'm sure she'll still wake up abnormally early.