The Park

We finally had a couple of days without clouds, wind and rain, so we decided to take advantage of it all and go to the park! Eli had been to the Sycamore Valley park twice (once when he was very little and not really able to appreciate it, and another when it was so cold and wet he couldn't get out of the stroller). But none of us had been to the park right across the street from our townhouse.

From the street it looks like a large park with a baseball field, soccer field, basketball and tennis courts, and even a beach volleyball court. Taryn and I never realized that they also had playgrounds and whatnot. But we took a drive through, made the discovery, then spent the afternoon partying with the Biddles out in the sunshine. Now we know we have a great place to play just a short walk away.

Here we are getting out of the car, with Eli in the sunglasses his Aunt & Uncle got him. He wasn't too sure of them at first, ripped them off twice, then finally accepted them, but felt the need to stick his hand out in front of his face to test reality through this new perspective.

He came to grips and eventually seemed pretty comfortable in them.

We set the kiddo down and the first thing he did was sit immobile on the grass. Since our backyard is a grassless brick patio with potted plants, he'd never really had the experience. I think he was pretty stunned and confused. We're talking about some thick, lush grass here, none of that kid stuff. Within a few seconds he was ready to be picked up again. So instead, we propped him up against a little cement wall, and back in his comfort zone, he went crazy. He loves to stand and is so close to walking unaided that it's almost scary.

Here's Taryn coaxing him towards her.

Which of course he did happily.
(Don't worry, by the end of the day I had him chasing me through the grass!)

This wall is a 3 quarters circle around what in the summer is a water filled pool at the top of a hill. The water trickles down a winding path shaped like a big snake and empties into another pool at the bottom of the hill. Very cool. Looks like it should be in Disneyland.

I played peek-a-boo with him on the other side of the wall, and he loved it.

Best face ever!

Here he is watching the bigger kids playing.

Soon enough kiddo ...

We took him onto one of the smaller playsets and let him mess around. He was hesitant to crawl through the tubes. Not sure why ...

Maybe it's the static effect.

He eventually made it through and was very proud of himself.

Afterwards, we took him to the swings since he loves the movement so much. Really, this is the bounciest kid ever. Again, he was a bit hesitant at first.

But he got into the swing of things soon enough.

Ah, puns. America loves 'em.

Stay tuned for some fun videos.