Cold and rainy days

I've never loved cold or rainy days, except when the weather is dangerous and exciting. This week we had rainy days at the beginning and cold ones at the end. Olivia and I hate for our morning and afternoon walks to be disrupted! So, on Tuesday, we drove to the mall in Birmingham to finish our Christmas shopping and walk inside. I timed it so Olivia took an hour nap on the way up, we "shopped" for about 2.5 hours, and then she took an hour nap on the way home. I say we "shopped" because at least half of that time was spent just walking, playing, eating, or drinking. I packed the baby food and fed her in the food court; we had a break for prune juice and a break for formula. So, Olivia was a pretty happy camper. Later that day at home, Olivia helped me find my Christmas CDs so that we could listen to them and dance around the house. I figure I have to start early with her to get her to like musicals and old Christmas music since Nicholas isn't into them.



As the week got colder, we postponed our morning walks until after Olivia's first nap. I don't like doing that because we end up playing trains in the dark instead of getting ready for our walk. But, I think it's been too cold to take her out in the mornings...29 degrees a couple of mornings. It was 37 and windy this morning, and after bundling her up, putting her in the stroller, getting the dogs ready, and walking down the driveway, I relented and turned back. In the afternoon it was 48 and windy and Nicholas and I took everyone to the playground. It was still pretty cold. We didn't stay long. Here are some videos:





I don't know what we are going to do when it gets too cold to walk at all during the day. When I lived in Indiana and jogged, my rule was that if it was below 20 degrees I wouldn't go. That's been my rule here, too, and I have only had to use it a handful of time. I'm not sure what a good rule is for a baby.