Tuesday, February 24, 2009

February 23 & 24

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.......

Thanks for putting up with yesterday's vent. In some ways today was better, in some it was worse. Overall, it'll just be nice when Rob graduates (in about 3 months) and I have more of a support system in place again! Some sunny warm weather certainly couldn't hurt either!

Thankfully, we actually have had some WARM weather this week... mid to upper 60's in February is a heat wave by any standard! And we have taken advantage. Yesterday afternoon we headed outside to play. The boys got bells for their bikes for Christmas, which we put on the bikes finally over the weekend, and the bells have brought new life to their bikes! They hadn't ridden them in quite awhile, but now they are enjoying their bikes again. Amazing what a little bell can do (thanks Lisa and Marcelo!). The boys all ride circles around the little visitor parking area outside of our garage. Here they are racing... no contest really since my boys both still have training wheels on. Hopefully we can get those off Jack's bike this summer!

Today we spent some more time outside... we played at Jack's school playground for a little while after school, then met Grandma and Kate at the park after nap/quiet time. We hadn't been to this particular park in about a year... and it was more crowded than I have EVER seen it before! The crowds thinned shortly after we arrived, and the kids all had a great time. Brayden's favorite part of the park is always the swings. His new thing is to go "really high." So I push him hard a few times and up he goes. As he was swinging, I remembered a suggestion that my photography teacher last year gave me. One of my favorite pictures I'd taken before my photography class was of Jack on a swing last spring. She suggested getting down on the ground in front of the swing and taking photos as the kids swung toward me. So I tried a bit of that out today! Mostly they turned out pretty well! As I now sit here and look at this picture... I wish there wasn't that merger (the pole through Brayden's head), but aside from that, I love this! I guess I can live with the pole through the head because it gives some context to the picture. Now I'll have to go look at them again and see if I got any without the merger!

Anyway. It's also worth nothing that today Kate played on the swings! She always seems to want to go on the swing, looks interested in it... but then doesn't want to sit in the seat and swing. But today she did! And there was no going back. Once she started swinging, she didn't want to stop. So cute!

Jack's activity of choice at the park these days is still ladders. Or really climbing of all kinds. Today it was climbing UP the slides... which just happens to be a pet peeve of mine. Slides are ONE WAY in my book. Climbing up the slide - unless you are the ONLY person at the park - always causes drama! I'm trying to explain the one-way concept to Jack but his respose to that is, "but sometimes they go both ways." Whatever. :) He's also taken to making friends at the park or anywhere we go... introducing himself to the kids around him, learning their names, and playing with them. It's so nice to see him becoming more outgoing!

2 comments:

carrielyns said...

ah slides. I have the same issue with Ella going up slides. My mantra is "up ladders, down slides". It's hard to get this to stick when she sees other kids going up the slides. GRRR.

Danielle Roe said...

Those darn big kid bad influences! It drives me nuts. I am never sure whether to take Jack aside and say, "just because the other kids are going up the slide doesn't mean you can do, doesn't mean it's right." OR... to say it really loudly so the other kids' parents can hear. Of course the kids who are climbing up the slides and setting a bad influence are usually the ones whose parents are paying zero attention to them, so my statement wouldn't make a difference!