Day One - Alex's cranky day

Dear Alex was fascinated by the shoes. I wonder where she gets it.










Dear Alex liked the red box on the sidewalk.











But the yellow was her favorite.













"Shiny, shiny"










But the yellow was her favorite.












Today was a low-key day. Originally I'd thought that maybe we'd go to the country, to see what was left of the snow - but because of my own low energy and Dear Alex's iffy mood, I let that thought pass. Dear Alex was just a little out of sorts this morning when she woke up screaming for Mommy mommy mmmmooooooommmmy!, and the mood lasted pretty much all day. She was on her own little toddler roller coaster, alternating between sweetness and hugs and terrible rages. I'm as much to blame for that as I really didn't provide sufficient distraction (like a trip to the country or a museum) to divert her attention from mommy. I did manage to get her calmed down, and dressed and changed and hugged and fed - a little bit at a time, as getting her to sit and eat has become a real trial. "Daddy I want to play". No, eat. Then you can play. "Daddy I want to play". No. eat. "Daddy I want to play". No. "I don't want to eat an-y-more". But you haven't eaten anything, and you're going to tell me you're hungry later. "Daddy I want to plaaaaay". Eventually I give up, and turned her loose from the tyranny of the table. Of course, an hour later, she's cranky as hell, throwing things and whining - "daddy I'm hungry. hungry." We got it all sorted out, and Dear Alex spent the day grazing on snacks and fruit, and eventually went out for a walk in the cold. We ended up having a great time, walking, walking, walking. I took my old familiar route down Park Avenue, and we had fun window shopping for shoes ("shoe store") and money ("bank, bank") and fell into a game of finding colors in the city. We found Red and Blue and Green and "shiny" but best of all, "Yellow!" The kid's a freak, but I love her for it. We had to stop, eventually because of the cold and a big wet diaper, but after a little bit we went out again for a run to the grocery store, to restock on the essentials that I'll prepare and Dear Alex won't eat.We ended up having a lot of fun, and a good night and a long bath and a mercifully quick goodnight as Dear Alex was tired from all of the walking and no nap today. Note to self: There's a trade-off here: no nap= easy bedtime, but, no nap also equals full-on attention, and the ever-present edge of crankiness. Ultimately, we had a good day, but it was tinged with a little sadness, and little loneliness, and though Dear Alex and I disagree about some things, (no more Clifford or Caillou or throwing toys or not eating) we have common ground on one thing - we miss Beautiful Wife.