Another lesson learned from my toddler.

This week has been Fantastic! I decided to take advantage of the fact that the doctor that I work for went on vacation, and I have been bringing Hailey with me to work everyday. It was an awesome coincidence that this week decided to be a week full of fabulous weather as well.

First thing Monday morning we headed to the office with my car full of all of her favorite toys. Leap Frog laptop, doll with all of her accessories, magna-doodle, flash cards, a basket full of books, and handfuls of markers and crayons. We also brought along her pop-up tent with the tunnel that connects to it. I thought that with ALL of this, she would be able to entertain herself for an hour or so...nope. She took one look at the charts on the wall and decided that it would be much more entertaining for her to rip them all down. So, majority of my week has been spent following her around, picking up her "little tornado's" around the office.

Yesterday I took her to the free story time for babies and toddlers at the library at Carmel. It was wonderful. She got to run up and down the rows of books with tons of other babies her age. Unfortunately the story teller was sick, but I got her to sit still for one book about a little mouse and Valentine's Day. After the running, she sat down at a table with other toddlers and did a winter-themed craft. It was adorable, but a little out of place considering the beautiful weather.

Today was the best day of the week. We picked up lunch and took it to the beach as we have been doing each day. However, as soon as I parked the car today Hailey started yelling, "Ocean! Ocean!". This was her first time saying the word and I was shocked that she was able to put the word with the place. As we were eating (in the car to avoid sand in our sand-wiches) she kept yelling "Ocean!" out the window at everyone who walked by. By the time I was done with my lunch, she was practically out of her car seat, ready to run in the sand. Once we got on the beach, I noticed a lot of other children her age playing the water...in January!! I was shocked, but it was gorgeous outside and the waves had formed little tide pools that were perfect toddler size. Before I knew it, Hailey was sitting in the sand, pulling off her pants and running for the water. Even though I wasn't prepared for water play, we both had a blast! I ended up taking off her shirt and chasing my little naked baby  up and down the beach for 45 minutes. We had so much fun!

Lesson learned. When mother nature gives you sunshine in January, run naked in the ocean!

This is a picture from earlier in the week. I wish I had taken some today, but I was having too much fun to stop and grab my camera.