supposedly walking

We're finally all over our Gymboree- or playdate-acquired colds, thankfully. I think it lasted the longest for poor Olivia, but you'd never know (other than the insane quantity of ... um ... output from such a tiny nose) that she was sick. For the most part, she was in a good mood as usual. And she's slept through the night for 4 days in a row now, which makes me very happy.

I've had a bit of freelance work lately, which means that daddy plays with her in the living room while I'm at the dining room table working. I can't tell you the number of times in the last week that he's claimed that Olivia has taken several steps on her own. As soon as I run in there, she plops on the floor and starts back up with the take-a-knee scoot she's mastered. Yesterday we had dinner with friends at their place, and while I was upstairs chatting, Olivia allegedly took 10 steps on her own while down in the basement with the dad and his son. She also -- and again, I'm going to say allegedly, because I won't believe it until I see it! -- stood up on her own without holding onto anything, and then did it again this morning. My husband described it as sort of a downward-facing dog for babies. So while she's way behind my mom friends with babies her age, maybe she actually will walk eventually. ;) Now if we can just get her off her beloved ba-ba and purees ...

In other news, we're thinking about enrolling her in a mom's day out program in the fall. If my freelance continues to be as busy as it has been, I need some daytime hours other than her unreliable naps in which to work. It would be two days a week from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and it would be much less expensive than hiring a sitter to come to the house. The program is NAYEC accredited and looks really great. I sent a small deposit in to hold the space for now, and I'll have until August to figure out if I can really go through with it. I have a lot of guilt even thinking about it. I feel like because I chose to stay home with her, I should be responsible for her care 24/7 (which I know is irrational), she'll get sick, I'll get sick ... So we'll see.