Outside

What with one snow storm after another and persistent temperatures below 40 degrees for like...ever, the last time Quint got to play outside was in Texas in 2010. Literally, the last time he played in the yard, any yard, was last year. That's pitiful! When we leave Priscilla's, he will frequently point to the playground and obviously want to play. And I kept having to tell him no, because it was covered in snow, or 24 degrees out, or both.

Finally, Friday, it was warm enough and dry enough that the kids got to play on the playground at Priscilla's.

Saturday, it was a whopping 65 degrees! About lunchtime, I tell Quint that we need to change his clothes (out of PJs) so we can go outside. His face lights up and he starts laughing. I grab the big diaper bag with clothes and drinks and snacks for Quint and put him in the car. At first, he's confused because I tell him we're going outside and then put him in the car. The neighborhood park is a quarter mile away, but up a steep hill, coming and going (literally) that I'm not sure I'll be able to manage with the stroller. We get out at the park and play and play and play.

I let him run around everywhere and he loves to cross the bridge then walk back up the gully. When he needs help with a slope, he holds up his hand for me to hold, but if he doesn't think he needs help, he doesn't ask. We swing. We climb up the playscape and go down the slide backwards a gillion times. After a while, I feed him lunch on the playscape. I wonder why I didn't bring anything to eat for myself.

A neighbor comes out with his little girl and we have fun getting to know them. They have a son almost the exact same age as Quint who is home taking a nap. I'll have to look them up later, and meet his wife and son. Apparently, these folks first came to look at buying their house on the day of our house wreck in 2005. Nothing like entering a prospective neighborhood only to find an extra car through the side of a garage. That sticks with you.

Hubby came home from work and came to find us at the park. We play for a while, and I realize that we've been at the park for 2 hours! We ask Quint if he's ready to go home and he says no. But he's starting to stumble on flat pavement, so we take him home anyway.

Even after all that time outside, whenever he heard me say the word "outside" to my sister on the phone, he started laughing and raced to the door.

Sunday, we go for a big walk and play in our own yard for quite some time. Quint is very good about coming back closer when I tell him not to go far. It's so nice to be outside. We meet some more neighbors who have a 2.5 year old boy and a 9 week old boy. We've got a 1.5 year old boy and will have another in 4 months. This could be really fun for playdates in the next few years.

A friend recently encouraged me to try to make lots of friends for the boys to play with. She said that when her kids were little, she was way too picky about who her friends were and she was alone a lot as a result. Ten years later, she has lots of friends with whom she doesn't agree on everything. For instance, she and I have opposite political views. She's Catholic and I'm Protestant. She's learned that you don't have to have everything in common.

So we look forward to a lovely warm day again tomorrow when we can hopefully get outside again!