On Saturday we had big plans to go to the movies and see "The Departed". We haven't been to the movie theater since before Ella was born -- almost a year now. I worked a mid-day shift and got home around six o'clock. Miss Nassim came by for one last visit with Ella before returning to Atlanta on Sunday. We got to the house about the same time and were greeted by a pretty cranky baby. Matt said she had been good all day and seemed very happy. Of course that made me feel wonderful (read sarcasm). Anyway -- by the time our friends came over to babysit Ella she was in full meltdown mode and nothing was soothing her. Our friends, who are not parents themselves, urged us to go and said everything would be fine. But after a few attempts to leave -- we ended up staying until Ella had a bedtime bottle and was tucked in -- quiet and peaceful at last. We missed the movie so we just went out for a nice dinner.
On Sunday our hopes for a good time were crushed once more. On our way to Church we noticed streets were closed in downtown Manhattan Beach for a fall festival. There were pony rides! I immediately insisted we bring Ella down after her mid-morning nap (following services). Things went according to plan -- for a moment. Parking was a bear but we finally got a pretty good spot and strolled down to the action. Ella was fine until we entered the crowd of people. She started crying and whining and acting just unhappy in general. We walked swiftly past most of the vendors (although Matt managed to buy a couple of little gifts for his parents). I took her out of the stroller guessing perhaps she was disgruntled because her little head is at butt level -- and that's not pretty. But carrying her didn't work either. She refused to wear her hat and her little head started turning pink.
Finally (back in the stroller with the visor over her big white head) I suggested we just try the pony rides. I don't know why. Maybe I just saw an adorable moment, memory, photo in the mental thought of it. We made our way through the "kids" area and saw what appeared to be a decent sized line for the ponies. When we stopped to better evaluate the situation Ella let out a big wail. So we flipped the brakes off the stroller and hoofed it back to the car. Sweaty and tired we got home and put her down for a nap. I freshened up and left for a late shift at work. Maybe some of this parenting stuff works better if you don't plan a single thing.
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