sheltered life

I haven't really gotten the hang of leaving my house by myself with baby in tow. We tend to stay pretty much close to home base. We take some walks, and I'll throw us in the car maybe once a week to see a friend, but pretty much haven't gotten the hang of running errands with the kid. Part of it is I don't want to get into the habit of throw the kid in a shopping cart or the stroller at the mall to get out, I don't want her to grow up with the main activity in life being shopping. Part of it also is that healthwise, I am exhausted all the time. (We recently discovered that I have an underactive thyroid, and I guess the process of getting the medication right takes a while, so I pretty much still nap when she naps, and hope for lots of naps.)

All that to say, I really want to make a better effort to get out more with my daughter. I'd really like her to see more of the world, and I think I might need to see more of it as well. What to do with myself once I pack everything up and go is a quandary to me though. What can you go do with a baby? What should I go do with my baby? Can I just invite myself over to friends houses who have lots of children? How much walking can one really do? Sometimes I wish we still lived in Akron or in Columbus. We'd be all over those Metro Parks. Literally.

I suppose I should get over my fear of people seeing my legs and go to the pool or enroll in a Mommy and Me class at the Y. Of course that requires the shopping I am trying to avoid... finding a swimsuit at least. This post-pregnancy body is not looking forward to that.

I hope that regardless of what I do or don't do, that Violet will be fine. She's crawling and cruising, dancing, and ever-so-much into reading... Mainly I think she could get by with just a bit more socialization, and maybe we'd be okay. Oh the guilt-complexes that abound when you have a kid :)

So now for the video of the day. I like to call this one "Video for Aunt Libby" or "Someday We're Going to Buy YOUR Firstborn a Talking Book, Too!" :)







(of course, just so ya know, we really do like the book :))