A Blessed Break from Boredom

I've been drenched with guilt. I've so wanted to enjoy these last two weeks staying home with our beloved Alexa. But when each day was followed by a carbon copy of the previous day, it started eating away at my brains and chipping away at my soul. "Hell is repetition" is a profoundly true line from one of my favorite movies, Storm of the Century. While I strongly believe that a solid food and nap schedule are critical to a healthy baby, I knew when our play started to follow the same routine day after day we were heading for trouble.

Thankfully, my good friend Dana met Alexa and I at the mall today. I've never had so much fun at the mall without buying a single thing. (Unless food counts. I couldn't pass up a mocha from Nordstrom and a gooey pretzel from Auntie Anne's.) Alexa's smile at the end of the day refueled my soul. She was giggling and chirping like entertaining me was her full-time job. She was telling me, "Momma, I'm happy tooooo. When you're happy, I'm happy. I needed to get out of the house too. Thanks for having a fun day with me." I know that's a lot to interpret out of smiles and baby chatter, but I have no doubt that she was telling me those words exactly.

The pictures below tell the whole story. I wish I had captured Alexa's smile at the end of the day, but I was so entranced by her energy and beauty I couldn't tear myself away to grab the camera.

Momma, we already played all of these games!!


Pleeeaaase tell me we are going somewhere! My beautiful new coat and gloves are going to waste! What would Aunt Sara and Nana think?

That's what I'm talking about! I love these shoes!