I love that I have been blessed to be able to stay home with my baby, if only for a short time. (Unfortunately I will be going back to work when she is eight months old for financial reasons, but if I could stay home with her full time I definitely would.) That being said, we've officially decided that the title 'stay at home mom' shouldn't be taken literally. We decided a long time ago that we needed to get out and see the world, so unless the weather is really horrific Violet and I try to go on an outing a day.
They're usually short trips (1-2 hours tops) and we try to go to places that are full of hustle and bustle. Market, the Salvation Army, the mall, and the park top our list. Here are a few photos from one of our recent outings - Violet's first visit to the fair:
It was a bit cloudy that day and the coloring of the photos ended up being really interesting. I love all of the bright tents and signs, and so did Violet! This was one of the first times that we used her stroller sans carseat. Although she's still a bit small for it, she's been sitting up so well and is really curious, so I thought that this would give her a better view of things.
She'll usually sit up like a big girl for a while, but then decide that she wants to lounge and kicks her foot up on the tray. It's too hilarious, so I had to snap a picture (although this one was actually taken at the Salvation Army, not the fair). On a side note, I highly recommend the links pictured above. I couldn't figure out why she had gotten three sets of them at her baby shower - we hadn't registered for them and they didn't seem to be the most interesting toy to me. Boy was I wrong! She absolutely loves those things and they hold her attention far longer than most toys.
We saw a lot of new animals - horses, cows, chickens. The alpacas were super cute and fuzzy:
Unfortunately a lot of the other animals were *ahem* facing in the wrong direction for good photo ops if you know what I mean. And call me crazy, but I didn't quite trust the petting zoo yet so we skipped that entirely. After that we went to view the art and pumpkin decorating contest, but unfortunately our trip came to an abrupt end when it started to sprinkle.
The last thing you want when you're out with a baby, stroller, and diaper bag is to get caught in a downpour, so we high-tailed it back to the car. A quick back-of-the-Rav diaper change and we were on our way home for a feeding and a nap!
I've found that Violet is much happier and sleeps so much better if we get out of the house, and I'm less stir crazy as well, so it's really important to me to keep up with this daily tradition of ours. Now that the colder weather is upon us, I am afraid it will limit our daily outings more and more. If anyone has good suggestions for cold weather - baby friendly destinations, we're all ears!
Happy Friday all...have a fall-tastic weekend!
She seemed to have a great time and I agree. Even a trip to Target makes me feel not so claustrophobic and he enjoys ridding the cart.
ReplyDeleteI was a nanny for years and years and I learned that winters with little ones can be tough. I made a point of getting at least one big outing for us every day. We went to lots of library events and lots of story times at bookstores in the area. I also found cafes/coffee shops that host music time or other events for kids and we went to a lot of those as well. On days when there were no events (or when I couldn't stomach another kiddie event!) we would go to the play area in the mall or just go stroll around the mall for a change of scenery. Playdates and mommy groups (yes, they let the nanny go!) were essential as well.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm pregnant with my first child, I'm going to have to re-visit all of these old haunts of mine!
Not sure what you have in your area but good places: library, barnes and noble, petco to look at fish/birds/ferrets etc, ice skating (our rink lets you skate and push your stroller), fish at Cabelas.
ReplyDeleteCheers - from Utah
My niece is the cutest baby in the whole world! :)
ReplyDeletewhat a precious little one you have!
ReplyDeleteShe seemed to have a great time and I agree. Even a trip to Target makes me feel not so claustrophobic and he enjoys ridding the cart.
ReplyDelete