Outdoors

The past couple of days have been unseasonably warm, and since we've been on self-imposed house arrest for a while, I thought Monday was a great day to get out.  (The house arrest was my idea, and the result of cold weather, backed-up laundry and trying to be sure we didn't get sick.)

I would have loved to go for a full day of exploring and hiking, but my husband was busy and Annika had nap time, so we opted for a short trip on a local trail instead.  I packed some soup and sandwiches and we hit the road.

It was pretty fun for a mommy-daughter hike.  Honestly, I was still a little nervous to be solo with a toddler on secluded trails, but next time I'll clip my pepper spray on my belt and we'll be good. :)  I was able to carry Annika with the Ergo that my college roommate graciously left behind for us and it makes such a difference.  First of all, it puts a lil "oomph" in the exercise part of it for me, and also is a great gift for my patience.  When I am carrying her, I can move at my own pace while still being close and involved with her, and scatter the times when I am instead following slowly behind her while she slooooowly searches for sticks "shaped like guns" (thanks, Daddy).  She also loves collecting acorns and rocks to throw into the lake, but she tries so hard to throw with force that she ends up nearly falling in every time.

And even though I was working so hard to avoid getting sick, the windy chill of our hike left me with sniffles and sneezes all day yesterday.  Thankfully it's already passing, and I guess it was worth it to get outdoors with my girl when we had the chance.  Today, in contrast, is cold and rainy.  I thought we might brave it for the sake of a rainy-day walk through the yard, which we attempted, but it didn't last long.  I took a few cute pictures and we looked around a bit for sticks shaped like guns, then rushed inside for potato soup and nap time.

Everyone but me is asleep right now... maybe I should join the fun?