Spring Awakening

Yesterday was the first day of Spring and this morning I woke up to snow falling outside my window. I have never longed for warm weather more than I have today. Harlan has had a little bit of a cold for the past couple of days so we have been confined to the apartment most of the weekend. Cabin fever has started to settle in a bit and I am yearning for a warm sunny day to lift our spirits.

On Friday we were teased with amazing 70 degree sunny weather. It was breathtaking. It reminded me so much of why I love living in the city and how much I really need the warm weather. Harlan and I spent all day outside. We had a picnic in Central Park where Harlan LOVED running around without a jacket on and playing with bubbles. We finished the day with a little shopping and dinner outside with the pups and my family.

After our lovely day outside on Friday we woke up on Saturday morning to weather back in the 40’s and 50’s which was a stark reminder that although Spring is here, mother nature has a mind of her own.

The brisk cold weather and Harlan’s cold sickness has led us to staying inside the apartment for some quality time together. One thing I have learned about our two day adventure inside is that there are definitely advantages to being confined to a small space with my little love. With our lack of being outside, I have come to notice a lot more things about Harlan and her budding personality.

On Sunday I recognized how much Harlan is talking lately. She just started putting words together and has been practicing non-stop. Her favorite words now are “high five,” “bye dada,” and “no, no, no little.” {Little is a nickname that we call our yorkie, Toby.} It amazes me that seemingly overnight she has picked up this skill and is now taking off with it. On our trip to the grocery store today she sat in the cart and pointed out every single item that she could name. She yelled at me as we passed her chicken nuggets, she found her waffles in the frozen food aisle, and even picked out her milk. At home she continues to point out all of the body parts that she knows including her knees and elbows {which she pronounces “elmo.”} I have a feeling that I am going to wake up in a couple months and be able to have a full blown conversation with her.

The feeling is one that terrifies me, makes me sad, but also makes me proud. I am terrified that once she starts talking, she won’t be able to stop! I’ve got an inkling that I am going to have a big chatterbox on my hands. 😉 It makes me sad that this is yet another step into her leaving the baby stages and becoming a real toddler. She makes me so proud to be her mother and that she can accomplish so much already.

It looks like the cold weather is here to stay for a while longer. While I long for the warmer weather, I realize that these cold, stormy, sick days aren’t ones that I should wake up to dreading, but ones that I should cherish.