Alice is finally feeling better. No break downs and she ate well at all three meals. This makes Momma very happy. We went to the super duper play center again today of course. Alice really impressed me with her perseverance. She wanted to play on a rocking dog and I helped her onto it. She then proceeded to get on and off of it until she could do it on her own. She didn't show any sign of frustration and seemed very satisfied with herself.

Alice has her first ear infection. She showed symptoms of a cold on Friday and by Sunday she was absolutely miserable. I noticed that she was sticking her finger in her ear and every once in a while she would cry like she was in real pain. I took her to the doctor this morning and she was diagnosed with a pretty bad ear infection. I initially felt apprehensive about taking her in because it seems like a I take her in every time she has a cold and I come off as a hysterical mother. Well needless to say I was very glad I took her in. At least I know she'll start to feel better very soon. Another symptom of the cold and ear infection is decreased appetite. Alice hasn't wanted to eat much at all and it is killing me. I spend a lot of time coming up with a balanced meals for her and lately I end up throwing most of it away. It's also a lot of pressure to be completely in charge of someones else's nutrition. I have to make sure she gets enough protein, vegetables and dairy so her body and brain will develop properly. So when she refuses to eat I feel totally panicked. I'm also worried that I have caused her to dread meal time because often end up forcing her to eat. I know I shouldn't do this but sometimes I can get her to eat if I can just get her to taste it.

Alice is so hungry to learn. This morning we woke up at Jill's house. We brought Alice into bed with us for a snuggle. Mark began naming some objects in the room. He pointed to a picture on the wall and the window three or four times. Alice then would point to the picture and the window and Mark would say the word. After a few rounds of this Alice was saying picture and window almost perfectly. I think she's going to be a chatterbox. Alice is getting over some of her phobias. The last time we were at Jill's she was terrified of Jill's dog Callie and would cry whenever he come near. On this last visit she seemed more interested than scared. She also seems to be over her fear of swinging that developed over a long winter off. She has moments when she still gets scared but she really seems to be trying to face her fears.

Yesterday I took Alice to the super duper play center at Magnuson Park. I love it there and so does Alice. It's a great place for Alice to work on her gross and fine motor skills and to socialize. I love watching her interact with other kids. She doesn't actually interact much yet but I can tell she is very interested. Other kids her age are rather physical with each other, either hitting or hugging. Alice just likes to observe them. Sometimes at very close range. She doesn't understand personal space yet. When another toddler takes something from her or does anything that she doesn't like she doesn't hit or scream or cry, she just glares at them. She definitely gets that from me. Alice spent the majority of her time at the play center moving rubber balls in and out of the play house. Blogger is having problems with the image upload. As soon as it's fixed I'll post pics of Alice and her rubber balls.

Today we took Alice to the rose garden at the Woodland Park Zoo. It was beautiful even though the roses aren't in bloom yet. Alice loved walking in and out of the gazebo a hundred times. She was also very excited about the fountain. Probably the first she's seen. She also loved chasing the ducks.