Nap? Who needs a nap?

This seems to be my daughter's motto today. Our day started off like normal. She was up by 7:20, and I went and got her out of bed around 7:40 (she starts waking up by 7:20 most mornings, but isn't fully awake for a good 10-20 minutes afterwards...she gets that from me!). By 9:15, she was getting fussy and I put her in her swing for some good independent play time, and she fell asleep within 5 minutes. I moved her to her crib, and at 10:00, she was wide awake again, talking and squealing! Her morning naps are normally anywhere from an hour and a half to 2 1/2 hours long (if it's 2 1/2 hours long, her afternoon nap is usually just an hour to an hour and a half), so I knew that she wasn't done sleeping. I kept her in bed until 11:00, thinking she would eventually go back to sleep, but nope!

After seeing what a beautiful day today was, I decided that we needed to get out and enjoy some fresh air! I thought if I got her out of her normal routine (she's been inside quite a bit lately due to her nasty cold she's had this week), she would get some new stimulation, and get worn out. Plus, it really was a gorgeous day, and I couldn't stand the thought of staying inside on such a beautiful day. We went to Celebration Park in Allen. We were walking around, and she was looking at everything. I wanted to put her in a baby swing and see if a.) she was big enough to sit in it; b.) she would like it. She was big enough to sit in it - the back of the swing came up high enough she just reclined in it. There were leg holes cut out in the front and back of the swing, and her elbow kept slipping through the back hole, so I took a blanket to try and plug it. It didn't seem to bother her that she was somewhat falling out of the swing! (Just to clarify, though, she was never in danger of actually falling out of the swing).

I think you can tell by her face that she had a great time!

What a cutie!!!

She slept in the car to, and from, the park. She is, and always has been, a great car sleeper (again, she gets that from me!). It was 2:30 when we got home, so I was counting on her sleeping for at least another hour. I put her in bed, and she never went back to sleep. I didn't want a repeat of this morning (her short nap also led to a fussy, overly tired baby for about half an hour this morning...I know 30 minutes is nothing, but still...), so I decided to put her in her swing, and let her sleep the rest of her nap in her swing. Well....that didn't work. She never once fell asleep, and she would go from talking to fussing to full-out crying, and the cycle would just repeat. I finally got her out when I realized she wasn't going to sleep and we just sat on the couch and cuddled.

As I'm typing this, I have fed her a bottle, given her a bath, played with her a little bit, and put her in the swing while I started on dinner. I looked up...and she was asleep! She's now in bed...hopefully this lasts for at least an hour. Mommy needs some time to eat dinner and recharge...I'm exhausted!!