We get up early every morning, but the other day we managed to actually get out of the house bright and early too (a necessity these days with the heat already climbing). We headed to Rocks Riverside Park for its variety -- big open fields, a sandy playground, and walking trails. Since there were no children on the playground yet, we decided to go first for a walk. I started to head down towards the river, but Julia said she wanted to climb up the "mountain" (steep, rocky hill with a path that goes almost straight up).
I was a bit hesitant because I was just holding Liam (no sling or stroller), and I figured the novelty of the hike would wear off halfway up, and I'd end up having to somehow manage carrying both of them down the steep and uneven path. But I humored her, and Julia was such a trooper! She powered up to the top, stopping every now and then to marvel at the view of the river and the park below, saying "So high, so high". At the top she decided she wanted to be held, but instead of trying to explain that I couldn't really coordinate carrying both of them and getting us safely down, I just began praising her for climbing the "big mountain" and she was so proud of herself that she climbed all the way back down on her own with a big grin on her face.
I wasn't coordinated enough to get any pictures of that part, but I did get a few once we went back down to the playground. Some other children had come by then, but the real attention-grabber was the construction work going on at the water play area. Julia is fascinated by construction vehicles (especially diggers and cranes) -- fortunately we have a LOT of road works going on in our area to keep almost any drive very interesting.
This construction site, however, included men cutting off big tree branches and feeding them into a wood chipper. Julia was already mesmerized, but to make it even better the swings had a perfect view of the whole thing.
Liam thoroughly enjoyed the whole outing too but for much different reasons. On the hike he reached out and touched all of the big boulders lining the path (he loves different textures) and then tried happily to eat individual blades of grass when we got to the bottom, but the highlight for him was the sand on the playground...he could've stayed for hours just picking up handfuls and feeling and watching it run through his fingers!
We get up early every morning, but the other day we managed to actually get out of the house bright and early too (a necessity these days with the heat already climbing). We headed to Rocks Riverside Park for its variety -- big open fields, a sandy playground, and walking trails. Since there were no children on the playground yet, we decided to go first for a walk. I started to head down towards the river, but Julia said she wanted to climb up the "mountain" (steep, rocky hill with a path that goes almost straight up). 
I was a bit hesitant because I was just holding Liam (no sling or stroller), and I figured the novelty of the hike would wear off halfway up, and I'd end up having to somehow manage carrying both of them down the steep and uneven path. But I humored her, and Julia was such a trooper! She powered up to the top, stopping every now and then to marvel at the view of the river and the park below, saying "So high, so high". At the top she decided she wanted to be held, but instead of trying to explain that I couldn't really coordinate carrying both of them and getting us safely down, I just began praising her for climbing the "big mountain" and she was so proud of herself that she climbed all the way back down on her own with a big grin on her face. 
I wasn't coordinated enough to get any pictures of that part, but I did get a few once we went back down to the playground. Some other children had come by then, but the real attention-grabber was the construction work going on at the water play area. Julia is fascinated by construction vehicles (especially diggers and cranes) -- fortunately we have a LOT of road works going on in our area to keep almost any drive very interesting. 
This construction site, however, included men cutting off big tree branches and feeding them into a wood chipper. Julia was already mesmerized, but to make it even better the swings had a perfect view of the whole thing. 
Liam thoroughly enjoyed the whole outing too but for much different reasons. On the hike he reached out and touched all of the big boulders lining the path (he loves different textures) and then tried happily to eat individual blades of grass when we got to the bottom, but the highlight for him was the sand on the playground...he could've stayed for hours just picking up handfuls and feeling and watching it run through his fingers!
1 comment:
Great new updates, Laura. Breastfeeding Julia?! Ah...no. How about a bed that elevates head and feet a bit? That position is good for sleep apnea. You could put wedges under the mattress.
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