A Stop at the Park

We went to the park on the way home from running a few errands today and Maya got to enjoy her first real outdoor swing!  We had a blast playing together and got some much needed outdoor time!

It was a wonderful day!

I'd say she liked it!

My girls intrigued at the recess whistle!

Rolling down the street...

Attempting to slide but waiting for Kate!

Kate was saying, "Heellp mmeeeee!", at this point but I
insisted on taking a picture.

She eventually got all the way up and took off
running so I couldn't take her picture.

But I zoomed in on the one below and kind of
got one of her!

She has not been interested in photos recently.

Me and my littlest and her cute, cold, little red nose!

When we got home, we got out the heart craft supplies that Mimi
dropped off and got to work making some Valentine's...since the
others didn't work out so well...

Maya's First Slide

I didn't dare take Kate to a public park/playground until she was at least nine months old.  It could've been the fact that she was born at the end of October and the weather was just cold, Ohio winter for the majority of her first few months of life.  Or it could've been because she was my first born and playgrounds just seem so...BIG.  #thatsprobablyit

But Maya has since jumped right into life, exploring and experiencing all things we do together no matter what.  #perkofbeingasecondchild

Today, she experienced her very first slide down a slide a Beekman Park on her big sister's lap!  ♥

It's normal to plop your not yet 3 month old in your
not yet 3 year old's lap for her first slide, right?!

Kate is super excited that Maya gets to ride with her!

Smiles for her big sis!

Yes, this was Maya's first slide!

There they go!

It should also be noted that there were several club sports teams playing on the fields around the playground.  These were most likely Ohio State sports clubs because this park is part of the Ohio State Campus...somehow, I believe.

Anyway, as we were walking to the park, we passed this guy who was walking towards us from one of the fields, and Kate said, out loud, as we walked passed, "He is so cute!"

People, I almost fell over.  What the what?!  First of all, WHERE ON EARTH did she hear that about a person of the opposite sex?!  Second of all, how does she know the laws of attraction?!  Third of all, this guy was a HUNK by every definition of the word.  He was super handsome and built with brown medium length hair and a smile that did all of us girls in.  Girlfriend's got good taste!

All I could say, out loud, as we continued to walk pass this college hunk was, "Yes, he is very cute!"

(I may have swooned a little too.)

But Brian and I both were giggling in the background.  She is too young for this.  Or we are too old for it.  Either way, WE ARE IN TROUBLE!!!  This, we know!

These two!

I so wish I had gotten a picture of Kate's hunk, but I didn't.  The next time I hear those words out of Kate's mouth, she had better be referring to a male puppy...or kitten...or other small male animal that you would label as "so cute"!  Somehow I don't think that will be the case!

We are in SO much trouble.

Snow Play

We haven't had many snow days this year and the ones that we have had have fallen on weekdays.  Weekday snow doesn't leave us very many opportunities to play outside.  With both Brian and me working and Kate at school during the day, by the time we get home and get settled it is nearly dark.  Today, however, was a different story!  We awoke to just over an inch of freshly fallen snow, with flakes still a-falling, and since we were dying to test out our new snowsuit and snow boots (thank you, GG & Papa!), we decided to take a walk in the snow right after breakfast!  We walked all the way to the park because that is Kate's favorite thing to do, of course, and spent our Sunday morning playing in the snow!

Walking to the park!  And by walking, I mean I
was walking...Kate more or less walked 10% of the time
and requested that I carry her the rest of the time!

We've got the whole park to ourselves!

Testing the jungle gym.

It was really slippery.

And Kate couldn't quite figure out how to maneuver
herself through the tunnel in her snowsuit without slipping,
so she she came back down the steps to me!

I heart this.

Swings are always a Kate favorite!

She loved swinging the snow!

 

Catching some snowflakes!

She also loved pretending to knock me down into the
snow while she was in her swing!  And I love heraing my Baby
laugh, so I will do nearly anything!  She thought it was
the funniest thing ever and talked about it when we got home!

Of course no snow day is complete without the hot
chocolate and marshmallow warm up when you get home!

Did I mention we were both so excited to walk in the snow that we put our snowsuits on right over our pajamas!?  Yes, we did, and it warm and cozy and so easy when we got back home!

PJ Park Day

When you're an early riser, you get up when the world is still quiet.  People are still sleeping, pets are still sleeping, animals are still sleeping, and the outside is silent.  There are no cars driving by, no people taking walks, no children riding bicycles, no planes flying over - just quiet.  This is my happy time - when I can get up early enough.  I am totally an early bird as opposed to a night owl.  Brian is totally a night owl!

After all, "The early worm gets the...worm,"  as Michael Scott from The Office would say!

This morning Kate got up SUPER early.  Like, way earlier than normal for her.  So after we had breakfast and played for a bit, we decided to walk to the park in our pajamas and play for a bit more.  We got there just around 8 am and had the entire playground to ourselves!  Minus some people who met up with their dogs for a little dog social out in the field!

We had a blast!  It was a little chilly and a little windy, but we dressed appropriately and got some fresh air!  Plus, I captured the cutest video ever!  Want to know what the park looks like to a two-year old?!  Watch this:

The swings are typically our first stop!

Swinging in our bone jammies!

Checking out the dog social!

Be still my heart!

This one makes me smile!

Even Baby gets a turn!

Getting up early makes me feel like I get so much more accomplished during the day.  When I've been up for a few hours and it's only 8 am I feel like I've got the whole rest of the day ahead!  I wonder if Kate will be an early bird like her Mommy or a night owl like her Daddy!  She seems to have moments of both!  If today is any precursor, then she is totally an early bird!

And that is perfectly fine by me!  #earlybirdsunite

Bundled Bunch

I am determined to keep us able to play outside this winter.  It is so much fun, so nice to get fresh air, and so good for our bodies.  My parents have just spent the last three years in Ottawa, Canada, and there are kids that walk to school every single day throughout the entire year.  This is what my brother, James, did.  He walked to school in negative temperatures.  So, I figure with the right gear, we can do it too!  Especially since we won't be in negative temperatures anytime soon!

We attempted this for the first time today.  We bundled up and headed to the park.  It was a quiet day.  We had the park to ourselves.  But we got outside and moved our bodies.  It was fun!  Plus we got nice and cozy when we got back home which totally made it all worth it!

It's not as easy to crawl through tunnels when
you're all bundled up!

But is sure does keep us warm!

Taking a chilly motorcycle ride!

"Rolling down the street..."  Thanks, Snoop.

We are a bundled bunch!

A Royal Couple

This past weekend, we had the lovely opportunity to meet up with one of Brian's good friends, Matt, and his wonderful family.  We heart these guys!  They are so easy going and so much fun to be around!  They introduced their son, Will, into the world in December of 2011, and, believe it or not, this was the very first time that Will and Kate actually met each other!


Will & Kate.

We think these two are certainly fit for royalty!

In addition to breakfast, we got to get a little morning park play in!  No one can complain about park play!

Climbing to the big slide!

Nearly there!

Waiting for Daddy to get situated to catch her at the bottom!

That face epitomizes how much Kate loves to slide!

Just waiting to slide down the tunnel slide.

Cutie patootie!

We hope to see these fine folks again soon!  Perhaps a bit of afternoon tea next time!

Perfect Park Days

The weather has just been phenomenal recently so we have taken every opportunity that we can to soak up those last warm sunshin-y rays at the park before we find ourselves in the middle of a brisk, cold winter!

Kate has really enjoyed going to the park recently now that she is more mobile!  This girls just loves to climb!  The very first time we let her explore on her own (read: crawl around the jungle gym with Mommy right by her side) she climbed to the very tallest slide!  Some of the older kids wouldn't even go down that slide, and while she did not officially slide down that very slide, she did thoroughly enjoy sitting atop of the world, watching the other kids play.

Just crawling through a tunnel, into the sunshine!

See that red tower in the background?  That is the tallest
slide at the park that Kate likes to crawl to!

She is never short of smiles when she is at the park!

Tunnel fun!

The cute little butt is on her way back up
to the red tower!

There she goes!

I love that Kate adores being outside and playing at the playground.  We've got several wonderful playgrounds in the area and I can assure you that we will certainly be making very good use out of them!