Shuffle, Clink & Snowy Playdates

Last night S was tossing and turning, but eventually we both drifted off. Sometime before 1:30 a.m. I heard it — shuffle… clink…shuffle… clink… shuffle… clink.

Harley with a toy? Nope.

A tiny shadow appeared in the doorway — Renn, inching along in her sleep sack, the zipper tab gently tapping as she walked.

“I sleep with you, Nana.”

Well. Obviously yes.

She climbed in and proceeded to chatter,  and wiggle for a solid 45 minutes of bum-taps, before finally surrendering to sleep again — right until 6:30. So… morning it was.

First order of business was socks - while in Kaylin's room she was looking thru the toy box and found an EDC outfit so had to put it on cracking me up

Renn and I started the day with yogurt, Nana’s applesauce, a few peeled orange slices, and I a coffee. We played quietly until Grandpa surfaced for his own mug.

mommy finger

Dr Renn is in the house

Fresh snow covered everything — the kind that makes the world look scrubbed and new. After 10, S headed out to shovel and attempted the leaf blower again. He maintains it feels wildly cost-ineffective for snow removal, but he gives it a try anyway. Ranch science experiment.

quite a singer

Renn grazed all day like a tiny free-range human. Grapes disappeared at record speed. She also enjoyed a freezie while waiting for her little buddy to arrive.

Before 11:30 Amanda dropped Aislyn off for the long-awaited playdate. The castle was stormed, puzzles assembled, colouring pages created, towers built and dramatically knocked over, cars raced around the island. Pure chaos. Pure joy.

Dance party

Lunch was hamburger soup (Aislyn’s favourite — solid choice) while Renn chose cheesy noodles. Puffed wheat squares made another appearance — still not winning Renn over.

After lunch S hit the bed with his book, and I slipped out into the brisk -10 sunshine to remove the horses’ blankets. Bright and beautiful but still sharp on the cheeks.

Amanda returned before 2 — quick visit, There was only a small morsel of a puffed wheat square remaining I was saving for her then off they went since Father Christino was stopping by their place. 

Kaylin requested a couple photos of her around 6 so I found a few.

Renn was crushed when Aislyn left, so we pivoted to fresh air therapy. Bundled up and walked Harley to the gate, Grandpa joining us. I carried a 26-pound backpack most of the trek — great strength training.

 This is as far as she would walk, 20 feet :)

Back inside: snack for Renny (ice cream, naturally), then more play. I cracked a beer — S had his first in almost three weeks and joined me just as B and Cooper arrived. Renn was thrilled. She even helped Auntie B mix the horse feed and insisted on bundling up to go out and help distribute buckets. She promptly fell into a snowbank, which ended that adventure. B returned her inside, said quick goodbyes, and headed home before 5.

S was back to reading when Renn and I snuggled up with a bit of Little Angels for some down time. Then he remembered the Flames played at 5 and disappeared to the TV room. Renn had a PB&J, more cheese (always more cheese), and then came the bedtime negotiations.

The bath was a hard sell — exhaustion plus second wind is a dangerous combo. But we managed a quick soak, lotion, clean PJs, and a goodnight to Grandpa in big brown. Into bed with more Dr. Seuss, chatting, rocking, storytelling… and more rocking. She absolutely caught a second wind.

Still — by 6:45 she was out again. I tucked her in and we headed upstairs for leftover supper during intermission.

He returned down other the game; I caught up the blog, watched a bit of another new Bridgerton. Up from the Flames loss, S and I then watched 2 more The Last Thing He Told Me episodes. All caught up till another new one released next Friday.

These full, snowy, little-feet-pattering days? They’re very busy. And they’re everything.