Florida - Day 4

Olivia woke up in a raging fit at 4 a.m. demanding to get into my bed - this is the consequence, I understand, of indulging her requests while she was sick or after she gets up in the morning - but I needed to draw the line at 4 this morning. I told her no and she raged on. Then she demanded a bottle. I decided I could handle that request. She went to sleep right after that and slept until 8. Aside from that episode, which woke my mom, too, the night was very good. When she woke for the day, she didn't feel feverish at all. She ate a decent breakfast and we headed to Silver Sands, the fabulous outlet mall not 10 minutes from here. My mom and I alternated between entertaining Pie and browsing the sale racks. She did pretty well, and enjoyed trying on sneakers at the New Balance store and pushing her stroller down the sidewalk. She seemed like herself with only a few outbursts. Pretty soon we'll be able to tell how many of these outbursts end up being a result of her sickness and how many can be attributed to toddler-ness. When we got home, she ate a lunch of mac and cheese, which she now loves. She's come a long way from hiding her noodles on her lunch tray at Auntie Nicki's only a few months ago to now enjoying this meal (really, who can resist Kraft Mac and Cheese?) She went down easily for her two-hour nap and I chipped away at my Ann Coulter book while sunning myself on the front lawn. The four 'girls' went for a little walk through the neighborhood after her nap. She was disappointed when we walked around the pool instead stopping to swim, but enjoyed the lawn swing and flowers. Great-Grandma made the decision to go out for dinner because she didn't feel like cooking so we ate at Captain Dave's for a five o'clock dinner. I was nervous because of the looming outburst possibility, but Pie was a champ. She happily played on the stairs by our table and looked out the giant windows overlooking the beach until the food came. Then she chowed on bread and butter, crackers, squash, fruit, water and a lemon wedge - I hear this is a balanced dinner :) Since she was in such good spirits when we left at six, my mom and I requested we be dropped off at the Avalon beach on the way home so Olivia could enjoy some play time before bed. She, again, loved the sand and the waves. This time I took care not to let her get drenched by the water. We found a little tide pool for her to play in and collect shells. We took our time walking back from the beach, admiring our favorite front yard decorations - a carved wooded bear, a white wrought iron sheep, and a stucco dolphin above a garage. Oh, the things that amuse a 19-month-old. After a quick sponge bath, Olivia went to right to bed at 7:00. I promised her we could visit the beach and the pool tomorrow so she needs a good night sleep tonight - me, too!