Mother/Daughter Day

Yesterday, I decided that Adrianna and I should have a mother/daughter afternoon. Granted, most afternoons during the week are mother/daughter afternoons since I get home from work at 3 and it is just us girls until Greg is done working at 5 or 6. But whatever. I thought it would be fun to go out for ice cream and then to the water fountain that kids can play in.

We had a good time. I really enjoy the time I spend with Adrianna. Watching her blossom and become her own little person is amazing. There are things I have appreciated about each stage of her development, and each new stage becomes my new favorite. But now, as she is able to hold conversations with me, it has brought it to a whole new and wonderful level. I find myself cherishing the time spent with her more than ever before. As we sat together at the table eating our ice cream and chatting about various things that interest her these days, I was struck with how quickly she is maturing and growing up, right before my eyes.

There are several things I did learn on this mother/daughter outing:

1. Adrianna is not quite ready for her own ice cream cone. She cannot eat it fast enough to keep the drips away. This surprised me, because whenever I used to share my ice cream with her, it seemed she was begging for another bite before I even got a turn to take one. We will do ice cream in a cup next time.
2. If you are going to take a long walk with a toddler, it is best to take a stroller. Adrianna didn’t get tired, but that girl can dawdle and get distracted by every ant and rock along the path. Which makes it really hard to get to your destination. At least with a stroller you can strap them in and go if you aren’t making much progress after the 20th stop to admire a leaf or random bug.
3. I am a complete worrier and sometimes, a hoverer. We were walking around this man-made lake with a large fountain in it. I was obsessed with worry that she would somehow fit through the bars of the fence and fall in. (Worrying about any suction the fountain may cause in the lake made my stress regarding the water even more pronounced.) I didn’t let her stray away more than an arm’s length from me when we were by the water, even though most of it had a fence around it. I cannot help it. When young children fall into water, they sink fast and often don’t even thrash around so it would be hard to see them. It gives me chills to even think about it.
4. My daughter is obsessed with water. (Well, this I knew already.) As we walked around the lake, she had to pause every few feet to point out the water. Again and again.
5. The water fountain that we went to play at is one of the best forms of free entertainment ever. Most of the others there are also young families, which makes it feel safe and inviting. And they even have benches for the moms and dads watching their kids soak it up.
6. Every puddle of water must be tromped through.
7. Adrianna’s imagination is growing by leaps and bounds. We saw some horse statues on our walk, so a little later when we finally made it back to the fountain, I noticed she was walking around on all fours. I asked her what she was doing, and she said, “Ride the horsie!” I wish I would’ve had my camera with me to capture her little bottom up in the air as she pretended to be a horse.