The best weekend ever

Romelie just had her best weekend so far. Only one fit all weekend, and it was a little one. Of course, it was in public, but for the most part, she was happy and playful all weekend long.

Before I brag about what an angel she was, I promised I’d mention these fits she’s been throwing. Sometimes they’re brought on by something obvious – she doesn’t want her diaper changed, she doesn’t want me to stick my finger in her nose, she doesn’t want to go in the car seat…you get the idea. But sometimes, out of nowhere, she just starts screaming. Her whole body arcs and stiffens, she cries and screams and writhes. It looks like she’s in pain, and for a while I figured it was teething-related, but she hasn’t had a new tooth in a few weeks, so I don’t think that’s it. It’s pretty tough to deal with, because you can’t really calm her down; you just have to wait until she’s done. I read on my favorite website, babycenter.com, that babies/toddlers throw tantrums like this because they’re frustrated but don’t know how to express themselves or control their emotions, and the best thing to do is to let it pass (either by ignoring it or by holding the kid until it’s over) and then talk about it after they’ve calmed down so they know that the behavior is unacceptable. So that’s what we do. But it’s tough when she’s throwing these fits off and on all evening – it makes it not so fun to spend time with her (sorry, but it does).

So that’s why this weekend was so amazing. Starting Friday when I picked her up from daycare, she was giggly and playful and attentive and happy all weekend. She cried a few times, but as I said, she only threw one fit, and it only lasted for less than a minute.

We did some fun stuff this weekend, too. Saturday we went to Baby Storytime at the library. It was our third Saturday going to this, and it’s a pretty great activity – one of the few events actually geared towards babies. We sing songs and read books and then they pull out a bin of toys for the babies to play with. Romelie actually played catch with me this time! She threw the ball in my general direction; I rolled it back. Afterwards, Chason and I took her to the MN Zoo. I’ve never been there in the winter (and haven’t been there at all in years), so it was pretty fun to look around. Romelie sat through the World of Birds show and didn’t make a peep; she was fascinated. Then Sunday we went to morning church to work in the nursery, and I only had to hold her about half the time – a huge improvement, since normally I have to hold her from the moment the first kid shows up until the last child leaves, anywhere from 1-2.5 hours. Then she sat through evening church with me and only got upset towards the end (that was when she threw her fit). But I stood up with her and bounced her and she calmed down pretty quickly.

I know that babies/toddlers throw tantrums, and I’m sure they’ll be plenty more to come in the future, but it was awfully nice to have a fun and pleasant weekend with my husband and kid.

No new pictures, but I do have a new video to share. This was at the nursery on Sunday. We get there at 9:00, but we don’t get our first kid until 9:30 (and sometimes not until closer to 10:30, when church starts), so Romelie has time to play and explore on her own. She’s a big fan of puzzles; she likes to pull all the pieces out and play with them. Well, last week, she figured out how to put one of the pieces – a ball – back into the puzzle. She’d take it out and put it back in and I’d clap and say ‘yay’ and then she’d do it again. So I got a video of her accomplishment. Enjoy!