The first picnic of 2014 took place on the kitchen floor. I'd promised the kids a picnic after our stroller walk and playtime in the park. Except the air was so cold I had to wear gloves to push the stroller and Clare didn't want to swing high on the swing because the air rushing by her was making her shiver. They were good at accepting a change of plans.
Another cool day at the park. The kids found a nice big puddle on the ice rink and had great fun splashing until Karl fell down. Twice. I had to strip him down to his diaper, wrap him in a blanket, and head for home. We usually walk to the park, so it was a good 15 minutes in a soggy diaper and soggy socks, which I forgot to take off. No harm done and some good memories made.
It was fun to see the goldfinches change color as the spring days grew warmer. Now it's pretty obvious what kind of bird they are, but in their winter plumage I had to ask my mom what they were. You'd think between the three different bird books I own I could have figured it out except only one of them shows winter and juvenile plumage. We did finally take the bird feeder down so I could wash the window and use my clothesline (in background) without worries of bird mess on the clothes.
Our town has some great parks, most within easy walking distance. We drove to this one because Clare wanted to ride her trike. She had fun going back and forth across the smooth concrete of the ice rink.
Karl played with his cars most of the time, after he got bored with his ride-on dump truck. He loves the cars that pull back to go forward, but he usually just revs them back and forth, back and forth over the ground and then picks them up to listen to the wheels spin. He is still obsessed with wheels. And vehicles in general. Anytime a semi or even a pickup roars down our street, he gets so excited. He loves watching ATVs and dirt bikes go down the bike path by our house. He can stand on the sidewalk and watch cars and trucks go by for a long time.
One of the many things I love about Clare is her ability to entertain herself. She plays outside by herself all the time. This particular day, I glanced out to see that she'd parked herself (with a bunch of toys and a 5-gallon bucket??) in the middle of the yard and was reading a book (in a very loud voice) to Molly. It was more of a made-up song than reading; Molly appears to be keeping her distance.
Finally, a real picnic outside! We've had several since. Karl did well the first time staying in one spot and not making a huge mess. Subsequent times left peanut butter and jam fingerprints on the deck and stairs, cracker stuck upside down to the deck, and pants covered in peanut butter because he thought that would be a great place to wipe his sticky fingers. Despite the hassle of cleaning up more mess and washing more clothes, I love eating outside with the kids. Dining alfresco (even if it's just PBJs) makes summer so much fun.
Karl is a creature of habit. Once he knows a particular routine, it HAS to be that way. For example, when he wakes up, he knows he has to throw his Nuk back in the crib but he's allowed to take his blanket out. Once we're downstairs, he likes to sit in the rocking chair and look at books. Then he heads straight to his high chair. He holds up his bib for me to put around his neck. He makes the sign for milk and then points to his tray. It's all pretty cute. He also likes taking charge of his shoes. When he wants to go out, he'll bring me his little Keens. If there's a pair of socks within reach, he'll bring those too. Sometimes he tries to put them on himself but they're pretty tricky.
1 comment:
Hi Amy! Oh my gosh that picture of Clare entertaining herself set up in your yard with her stuff, and reading to your dog....that is soooo adorable! Love it!
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