A Date With Norah

Since Norah is getting older, I have been thinking a lot about doing more for her. Don't get me wrong, everything I do is for her, but I still feel like she deserves to have more fun, explore the world more and learn (she is a little sponge) and I'm the one responsible for giving her opportunities for those things. I am so glad I am able to and that I don't have to rely on a day care center or another mother to do those things. Anyway, the point I'm getting at is that I've started to have date days with Norah. I haven't decided how often they will happen yet, but I want to dedicate a day to Norah where I'm not running around doing my own errands or chores. I want it to be about her. Today was our first. Here's what we did:

We found this cute park called Frying Pan Park just a few miles away from where we're living. It's a park (so it's free), but it used to be a farm so there are animals there. Norah was so excited to see the cows, the sheep (poor things had to be dying in the 85 degree heat), horses, goats, etc.
I love this one. It's like she's saying "Quick Mom take the picture, I'm touching its ear!!"
As we were making our way from the animals to the slides and swings, Norah stopped dead in her tracks. No amount of coaxing could get her to keep walking. Want to know what she was so intrigued by?
This is what she looked like when I finally ditched the slides and brought her closer to said object.
Here she is explaining to me what she sees. Did you guess it?

Probably not. Yep, that's right folks, a John Deere.

Moving on.

We did a little shopping at Trader Joe's. Don't you worry, she wiped down that cart with an antibacterial wipey and subsequently tossed it into the cart.

A little Toasted O's never hurt.

Then it was off to the Frozen Custard Shop.

My goodness, you would never know that this little chica was tongue-tied at birth.

Then we sat on a bench and had a little chat. She sat there for a good ten minutes after which she proclaimed "all done" and hopped off.
But not before waving bye to her shadow.

It was a fun day, but the absolute best part was the "Thank you Momma" with a hug at the end of the day.

I. Just. Melt.