Gorgeous Weekend!

Saturday was glorious ... the kind of beautiful day that catches you by surprise because its the end of January and 75 and sunny.  All of which make you glad to simply be alive and able to get outside.

So, how did we spend the day?  It started right after breakfast with Brianna announcing in her very authoritarian toddler voice that it was "tickle monster time mama!"  I love tickle monster time.  We put on our tickle monster mitts, read the story and laugh till we can't laugh any longer.  Its awesome mommy/daughter time!  She has her own set of mitts and we tickle each other till we can't laugh any longer.  I love that the book ends with an "i love you so much" and big hugs too.  She randomly announces its tickle monster time, grabs the book from the shelf and plops down in the middle of the floor with it, much like in this picture.

We also spent a lot of time playing at the park.  When we first started taking her to this park, we had to hold her hands to help her climb the stairs.  Now, everything is "i do it myself mama" and do it herself is right.  She was all over the place, climbing the stairs, making new friends, taking turns, going down the slide, swinging, trying new things and just generally having a great time.

We went to Panera Bread for lunch afterward and then home for a nap.  Lately, she's taken to going to bed with a book and "reading" until she falls asleep.  She doesn't want to be rocked or cuddled or anything.  We read stories, give her kisses and then she informs us that its night night time and that she needs her taggie and her book and we can "go now. I go night night by myself.".  I swear she is the most independent little thing when she wants to be.  This is a far better option than the temper tantrums of a month ago though so I'll take it.  I miss the cuddles, but its far better for her if she can wind down and go to sleep on her own.  Its almost time for her to transition to a toddler bed, but I'm not quite ready for that.

I still can't believe she's going to be two on Friday....that's a whole other post though.