The worst idea walk and bonking daddy bedtime

Miss Abby not so happy after the walk and her daddy. She does not like that jacket.

Little Man Luke bundled up and happy on the walk.

This post is about Thursday 11/1/07 evening.

I got home from work a little late and Miram and I tried to take a walk last night from our house to Adam's Dairy Parkway and back. It did not go so well. I was full from pizza (I worked late and got pizza ... people will do large amounts of extra work for a slice of pepperoni pizza) and Miriam was just finishing eating some ravioli. I colored with Abby on the floor of the kitchen for awhile while Luke sat in the swing. Abby is a pretty fun girl. We had a good time coloring. She would ask "Are you ready Daddy?" before turning the page.

We got Luke dressed in his fuzzy blue suit. He looked pretty warm and cute. Abby was wearing her new pink winter jacket ... which apparently she hates. Just as we got her seated in the stroller and getting ready to go she started crying about her jacket rubbing her chin. It was like 7:10pm and it was already dark and cold. I think the temp was around 47.
About 0.5 to 0.6 miles into our walk Abby was being a royal pain in the tail. She did not want to put her gloves on and didn't want to put her hand under the blanket ... so instead she just let them freeze while hanging on to the stroller bar. Kids ... sometimes it just isn't worth the fight. Miriam and I did not want to let Abby walk because we were just trying to get a good little walk in (1.5 mile walk). Well Abby became a little too frantic and so we decided to let her walk. She was so happy for about 50 meters and then it just all fell apart. She wanted her hat off, then she wanted her gloves on and then off, and then she was trying to tear her jacket and her hat off. The whole time Miriam and I are trying to coax her into keeping said items of clothing on. After about 5-10 minutes of this we decided that it was not worth it and to just head back home. Abby did not particularly like this idea either and insisted on walking the other way crying very loudly. Miriam was pushing the stroller and I was on full time Abby duty. It was another 5 minutes of trying to get her to walk back to the house but she would just stop and cry and not walk. Then she would take a couple steps and stop and cry and she wouldn't really say what was wrong she would just stand there and stomp her feet and flap her arms and cry.
I was thoroughly confused (although I believe Abby is helping me to understand the female species better ... more on this topic at another time). Eventually I just picked Abby up and much to my amazement she let me carry her. It was a surprise because just 3 minutes earlier when I attempted to carry her she threw a fit and was kicking and screaming and again ... crying loudly.
I unzipped my jacket, tucked her cute little hands up underneath my arms near my armpits (one of the warmest parts of the body) and wrapped my jacket as far around her as I could get it and started off for home. I was now trailing Miriam by a little bit and had to play catch up.
When I caught back up with Miriam, there wasn't a whole lot to say about the situation other than, "This wasn't our best idea." And you know, it may not have turned out to be the best idea but as I was carrying Abby back to the house with her snuggled up to me and my beautiful hard working wife pushing the stroller with our sweet little boy all bundled up inside it, I couldn't help but think that "It's just another day in paradise." I have a great family with God at the helm. We were on the way to a warm house stocked with food (and way too much STUFF). It is hard to complain when you step back and be appreciative.
Back at home we had to take some pictures to capture the moment in color. Then it was off to bath time and bed time after I read one of the silliest stories ... Amelia Bedlia, the rocket scientist.
Bath time did not go so well either. We were bathing Luke and Abby at the same time (as we usually do). Abby usually does a good job with Luke. But tonight she decided to dump water on Luke's face ... TWICE! Miriam I and were unhappy (to put it lightly). Luke was coughing and it was sad.
Bed time went a little better but Abby was just kind of in a bad way this evening. After we finally got her hair combed, teeth brushed, pajamas on, ears cleaned out, and in the proximity of her bed ... I could feel freedom just around the corner when she said, "Okay daddy, I go tell mommy night night and and and den you stay right here ... and I BE RIGHT BACK (with her finger wagging at me)." I said no. A small exchange and then she crawled into bed and says "Daddy lay down right here in my bed." Her bed is way too small for me but this is her way of telling me to put my head on her mattress with the rest of my body on the floor, which I gladly do. She accidentally brushed my head with her hand and said, "I bonk daddy's face" with a big grin while sucking her thumb. I smiled and said, "yes you did, but it was gentle, no big deal." She didn't even really bonk my face. Then much to my surprise she balled her hand into a fist, cocked it back to left field and punched me in the lip. That was definitely a bonk. I exclaimed, "Abby!" but couldn't help laughing. She said, "Sorry dad." We had some small talk and then she wanted me to put my head on her pillow on the floor right by her bed. I do and next thing I know Miriam is waking me up. It is around 9pm and for some strange reason ... feels like bed time for me.