Date Day

A few months before I had Avery I finally realized that the time that I had with just Harlan was limited. I spent all day and everyday with her, but in a few months time that was all going to change. She went with me to all of my doctors appointments and was very well aware that there was going to be a new addition to our family, but I don’t think a two year-old can truly grasp how much her world was going to change.

Although we spent all of our time together, I wanted our remaining months together to really be special. One Saturday, with just a couple of weeks left in my pregnancy, Harlan and I spent all day together doing anything that she wanted to do. We rode the bus, went to an arts and craft store to paint pottery, and even treated ourselves to ice cream. It was a day for just the two of us. A “date” as Harlan called it.

Little did I know that that weekend would be the first of many dates that Harlan and I would go on. We now have dates at least once a month. Harlan always gets to choose the place and what we do. I want her to know that it’s all about her that day and no one else.

Last Saturday was our date day for the month. Harlan woke up bright and early begging go to the playground. It’s finally starting to get a bit warmer here in the city with bits of spring peeking through.

Harlan is such a fun playground playmate. We played soccer, she sat on my lap as we went “high up in the air” on the swing, and even played a game of soccer on the basketball court. She loves climbing around on the playground set and it’s so incredible to watch how much more confident she is now than she was a year ago. On Saturday we worked together to get over her fear of going down the fireman pole (I think that’s what it’s called) by herself. The grin on her face once she reached the bottom all by herself was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

I always look forward to the days that I get to spend with just the two of us, but last Saturday I especially looked forward to our date to one of my favorite stores ever, Target. If only I had really known when I lived in the suburbs just how amazing this place was, I probably would have been there a lot more (and probably out of a lot more money.)

Harlan appreciates Target just as much as I do and she was thrilled to be able to make the trip with me. We did our shopping and she sipped on an icee. We spent over two hours in the store without a single tantrum (those of you will three year olds know how much of an accomplishment that is.) We left with so much great stuff and smiles on our faces.

After we got home and had dinner, I had all intentions of putting her to bed and have a nice relaxing night on the couch. But Har wanted to continue our date day at the yogurt shop. I can’t say no to frozen yogurt, so we made our way to the yogurt shop where Harlan loaded her strawberry frozen yogurt with any topping that she wanted. It was topped with marshmallows, gummy bears, M&Ms, and sour worms. Not the combination I would go for, but just what she wanted. And that’s what our dates are all about.