I Can't Think of a Title Because My Brain is Fried.

We enjoyed a happy and fun Fourth of July. Nora watched her first parade and quickly figured out that when people throw candy in your direction, you run and get it. (Also, there were horses, which was equally amazing.)  She also saw her first fireworks, and despite being up WAY past bedtime, enjoyed them and said "ooooooo wooow" for almost all of them. (The 4th is also our anniversary, but we're not officially celebrating until next week.)

Part of the fun of the fourth was staying up late, and then on the fifth we drove to visit Ryan's family. We couldn't leave until after Ryan got off work at 6, and this made for another late night, accompanied by a serious case of "I will not go to sleep even though it's 1am because we're in a new place and I can't relax." The next night she stayed up until 9:30 (late for her) playing with cousins and friends.  On Sunday we had a busy morning and then had to drive home in the holiday weekend traffic.  All in all---fun times, but today we had a very cranky girl on our hands.

What happens when a one-year-old doesn't go to bed on time for three nights in a row?  Let me tell you.

Reasons Nora Cried Today:
She tried to eat a flower and didn't like the way it tasted.
I wouldn't let her eat the birdseed we were putting in the bird feeder.
She had to sit in her carseat.
She was in the stroller.
I took her out of the stroller.
She wanted to be held.
She wanted down.
She wanted to go outside.
I closed the door when she followed the dog inside.
We rolled up the hose.
We had finished watering the garden and it was time to water the flowers.
She wanted to go up the stairs, not down.
I wouldn't let her eat the bubbles in the sink (even though I would let her play with them).
She wanted to scrambled eggs.
I was making scrambled eggs.
She had to brush her teeth.
I wouldn't let her dip her toothbrush in the bathwater OR the toliet. (I'm such a meanie.)
She had to wear clothes.
It was time to change her diaper.
The trash can is too heavy for her to carry.

One day last week, Ryan and I were watching TV after Nora had gone to bed. Like today, it had been a particularly challenging day.  He said "so, how many kids do you want?"  (This seems to be the obligatory question to ask when we aren't talking about anything else. We're weird.)

"Today? One."

It's not true. Someday we hope to have another. But wow. Some days, if someone showed up at my door and offered me a full time job with in-house reliable and educational daycare, I would take it without even asking for the job description.  In the meantime, I'm enjoying teaching another online class this summer. Despite keeping me extra busy, it's a nice break from diapers-baths-playtime-snacks-what'sfordinner-and so on.

Love is patient, and so I, too, will try.