Free

Once again, a post written mostly yesterday  (Sunday)

Free Dessert

Tonight we went to Pepita's for dinner.  Before we asked for the check, but with no wait staff visible to us, I pondered ordering the sopapillas.  In the past, we have rarely ordered dessert.  In the end we decided to skip dessert.  However, when they delivered the check to us, they also gave us an order of sopapillas on the house.  Which means they must have overheard our conversation, or at least parts of it.  Awesome.  There are perks to frequenting a restaurant so much that they don't bother to give you menus (as happened today) and just confirm you want the usual, then give you free stuff to be nice. 

Saturday Market

D decided to go for a run along the waterfront today, so Avery and I tagged along and perused the Saturday Market (which is also in full swing on Sundays) while he was running.  Avery wanted to be in her stroller (unusual) which made shopping with so many people around pleasant.

The number and variety of stalls has increased since the city put in the addition along the waterfront.  It was still a bit congested in certain areas, but we managed.

After looking for the bathroom for what seemed like forever (thank goodness Avery can hold it for shockingly long periods of time), Avery decided to play in the fountain with the other kids.  We didn't have her swimsuit, so we just took off her pants and let her play in just her shirt and underwear.

It was a nice unplanned outing.  I did manage to lose one of her shoes.  And of course they were her most expensive pair. 

Trail

Together, Avery and I took the dogs on their walk today.  I haven't taken her with me in a while, but I was feeling full of patience and energy which, combined with gorgeous weather, made for a very nice dose of fresh air and exercise for us both. I told Avery that she needed to lead the way to the trail so the dogs would know where to go.  She took her task very seriously; there was very little dawdling or deviation from the task at hand.  Once we got on the trail, I let the dogs off leash and expected the dawdling to increase exponentially.  Thankfully it did not.  She kept up at a quick and impressive toddler pace, hiking the whole trail on her own with very little prodding from me.

When we popped out into the cemetery, I expected she'd want to keep walking, but she immediately asked to get into the Beco.  I brought the Beco instead of the backpack since it's easier to carry and I wanted to test out my new theory that I can still use it for her if we're going downhill or walking a level course.  I can.  I cannot use it for her if we're going uphill since that kills my lower back.  Since the trail is the vast majority of the uphill portion of our dog walk, that works out perfectly. 

Tale of Despereaux

I ordered this book for Avery several months ago.  I knew it would be long, but didn't realize it was a book without many pictures.  Last night, I decided to see if it would hold Avery's attention.  I explained that we'd read a few chapters each night.  She said OK.  I'm happy to report it held her attention for two chapters, then we brushed her teeth.  When we came back to the room she was shouting, "Despereaux! Despereaux!" We read chapter three, then she decided to read to me.  I'm not sure if she'll get that we'll start on Chapter Four rather than at the beginning next time we read it, but I was happy to find the words alone can hold her attention.

Monday

Not sure what we're going to do today, which doesn't mean I can't think of plenty of things to do.  I'm just not sure what I feel like doing. Avery is currently watching her allotted 30 minutes of TV for the day.  She asked to watch Dinosaur Train, but by the time she made it to the TV 30 seconds later, she'd changed her mind and asked to watch Kung Fu Panda.  I set up my iPhone with a timer and explained that when the timer went off, the TV would need to be turned off.  We'll see how that works for avoiding tears.  She doesn't get upset after we turn it off when an episode or show is done (making 30 minute shows easy), but midway through a show or movie is a different story.