Fuss or fun? Some of each, I guess...

Sometimes our evening impression of the day that was is belied by our review of the day's pictures. Today, for example, we went to bed talking of Madeline's fussiness and her continued struggle with the afternoon nap; our pictures, however, reflect mostly smiles and positive energy.

We started the day at Olga's -- we might have attempted a brunch at home save that we were out of coffee. It was a lovely morning to eat in the garden, anyway, surrounded by flowers. And Madeline napped all the way through.

We were thinking of going to the RISD alumni art sale or perhaps finding a park to wander, but we'd left the wrap at home and had no interest in lugging the monstrous car seat around. So we returned home, and in no time Madeline woke up hungry. She was also full of enough energy that we suspected she wouldn't be keen to get strapped back into her car seat for another trip out.

So she ate, and she stared.

And she played.

And she fussed. Summer took her for a walk around the house to calm; they greeted me through the open window.

We had songs and coo-and-gurgle conversations and a bit of tummy time, too.

Madeline practiced her grip by tugging on Summer's hair. (She also continues to grab other things ever more frequently: she's pulled my glasses off a few times, she fiddles with her outfits, and she clutches her lizard friend and her plush cheetah, too.)

And when she fussed some more, we played sky baby, a game that turns cries into smiles.

But, as I suggested earlier, Madeline never went down for an afternoon nap and so got fussier as the day went on. By seven I managed to walk-bounce her into a tenuous sleep, and we ran out for some errands. Among them: we got a baby swing and a new type of bottle to try. With any luck, these will help with our afternoon nap and bottle-rejection issues. We should be able to tell better tomorrow.