So Freya went through this phase in January where she would stay up til almost 11pm at night. We never figured out what the deal was — we kept to our usual routine of dimming lights and volume after 8pm, reading her books downstairs, and then trying to nurse her down or slow-dance her to sleep in my arms. And nothing was working. It was frustrating. Tried waking her up at different times in the morning, too.

It seems to have passed. Last night she fell asleep on my lap at 9. I was rather surprised. But she had been fussing and grabbing at my pantlegs, and when I picked her up, pointed at my collarbone (which means “I want to nurse!”). I didn’t expect it would knock her out so fast. So I carried her up to bed and then I got to read for a while before going to sleep myself.

Yesterday was a big day, though. It was sunny and cold. In the morning, she kept going to the back door and pointing outside. I felt like it was too cold for a walk, but I decided to bundle her up and take her outside for some fresh air anyway. I set her down on our front sidewalk and took her mittened hand, and we started to walk. And walk. As we got further from the house, I decided she was probably ready for her first walk around the block, so away we went. She was thrilled. I picked her up and carried her a couple times at her request (walking is tiring on a baby!), but we made it all the way around and she had a blast. I love these times when she feels a teensy bit more “independent” (at her own pace of course). It fills a child with confidence.

Later on in the afternoon, post-nap, we took a long walk in the stroller down to the park, where we met up with Christina and her 2-year-old, Evan. We played there for a while, then strolled home, so a total distance of three miles. Freya really misses seeing the moon. I heard her little voice saying “mmmuh” as she peered up at the empty blue sky. I should figure out when and where it’s rising today so we can try to be outside for it.

Yesterday I also spent a great deal of time thinking about my book. So much so that I longed for a couple of uninterrupted hours to write. But it’s just not possible right now… I could get away with thirty minutes, maybe, enough time to jot down the ideas I had yesterday while walking. And no I couldn’t dictate things into my phone, either. I’m far too self-conscious about my voice for that.

Maybe during Freya’s nap today I’ll have time to write stuff down before I forget it.