Mommy-baby time

Aoife and I had a lot of fun this week. We went to baby bounce at our local library on Tuesday. Aoife was a little upset at first and let out a couple of whimpers every now and then, but eventually she got used to the place and really enjoyed it. We sang a lot of nursery rhymes and finger songs, and stories. She enjoyed being with the other babies a lot. We spent a long time afterward playing with them. We also went to another baby bounce at the central library in Berkeley, but there were over thirty babies and toddlers which made it crowded, noisy, and just plain not fun. We'll probably not go back to that one again.

Aoife has been trying new foods again. I introduced her to squash and sweet potato. She didn't like the squash a whole lot, but thouroughly enjoyed the sweet potato. The next day I went and bought some sweet potatos so that I could make a whole bunch for her rather than buying it all the time. It didn't turn out the way I would have liked, but Aoife didn't mind it too much. I need to get a mill so that I can puree it properly.
Aoife and I have wonderful afternoons together. After her afternoon nap, we go for a stroll in the neighborhood and I take a book so that I can get some reading done at a little bench along the way. We took a different path one day and came across this tree which seems to be a mix between an evergreen and a willow. Aoife and I stopped there and admired the tree for a long time. I have never seen such a tree before. We then go home and play a little before her bathtime. She takes a bath and then I dry her off in her duck towel while she looks at herself in the mirror and then we get ready for bed and eat and sleep. She seems to like this schedule a lot, so I'm hoping I'll be able to keep it up until she is an older kid.
Dorrie graciously offered to babysit for us, so we took her up on the offer. It was Dorrie's first time babysitting Aoife at night since Aoife was a couple months old. Tim and I went on our first real date since Aoife was born. We went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant in Elmwood. We had a great time reconnecting with each other again. We had a delicious meal and walked down college to buy pie and ice-cream for dessert. It was a beautiful night and we enojyed being in each others arms as we walked back home. Dorrie enjoyed her night with Aoife and had no problems. We spent a while talking with Dorrie before her sleepy eyes begged her to go home.