"I'm a baby anhinga, Mom."
Apr. 24th, 2009 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seldneiAfter being demon spawn for most of the morning, the Zweeble took an early nap. Which meant he got up early from it ... and I now had an afternoon to fill.
So I packed a picnic dinner, changes of clothes, towels, water, sunblock, swim and regular diapers, and the usual necessities of life (BlackBerry and wallet) ... and we went to Lakes Park. This is the park with the water feature (where kids basically get to play in a variety of fountains), the mini-train, the train-themed playground, and, of course, water and walkways and birds galore.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dealio said he'd meet us there when he got off work.
As soon as I told Z. we were going to the train playground, he helped me get him ready, found a book for the car, and babbled the whole way there about ringing the bells (there are these bells on the train-shaped playset that actually sound like train bells).
So we arrived, hit the playground, rang the bells, tried the periscope, drove the "train" forever, swung a bit, decided one of the tables on the playset was a grill ... then I realized I needed to lock the hatch of the car, so we went and did that. At which point the boyo decided he'd like to take a walk. Now, he's two feet tall, so a walk for him does not quite equal a walk for me, but it was a good sized walk for the little dude. He picked up a stick to use as a fishing rod, and we looked for water to fish in (there is no fishing at Lakes park, but I saw no signs prohibiting make-believe fishing).
As we were crossing a walkway, we found ducks. To whom we spoke. They ignored us, then flew away. Z. decided to fish for them.
We then found the new ice cream place, with surrounding deck and picnic tables out over the water, and looked for fish. We found birds--anhingas, which became the Z.'s new word for the day. He practiced it, and went through: "Flahingo," "manhiga," "hanmiga," and, finally, "anhinga." At which point he became a baby anhinga for most of the day. :)
His water was running low, so we went into the ice cream shop to get a bottle of water and found that we had to spend at least $5 to use a debit card ... so I had to buy a double scoop of ice cream, in a cone, to hit the $5 mark. Which is okay in one way, but not so much in another.
So we got a spoon, hit the deck again, and proceeded to eat the ice cream. The Zweeb would try and scoop the ice cream and not get much, so I'd help him. The ice cream got meltier and gooier, dripping all over us, the deck, the table ... and by then, any time he tried to scoop the ice cream, I had to stick my fingers in it to keep it from falling out of the cone (oh yes, cups didn't cost enough). So I made all kinds of silly noises about it, and he giggled and ate the stuff, and this older couple walked by and the lady was laughing at us both ... and I realized that I was feeling completely relaxed and having a really, really good time with my kid.
After that, we headed to the water feature. Which was colder than I expected, and probably colder than I should have let him play in, but the sun was very warm, so I just kept an eye on him. He got soaked, of course; we stuck our feet in different fountains; I ran through these rows of water jets, holding him like Superman; I'd swing him through the things. Probably the most fun was when he got the little water cannon and squirted me with it: I'd stand there and say, "Oh, you won't squirt me, I'm the Mommy, you won't--AAHH, YOU SQUIRTED ME!" And he'd grin and laugh as evilly as a two-year-old can ... then he'd have me squirt him, and he'd shriek and stamp his little feet and crack up.
Then I noticed his teeth chattering, so we went back to the car and got him warmed up--it was in the upper 80s today, so the car and the towels were very warm. The two of us got changed into dry clothes, phoned Scott to tell him we'd be over at the train yard, and headed back there--and within three minutes, Scott was there! Bearing meat and juice and Funyuns and sodas ... so we took Daddy to the deck and showed him the anhingas, ate dinner, hit the playground again, and took another walk.
Did I mention the Z. was fascinated with the soda and candy machines?
On our walk we saw red-winged blackbirds (the closest I've ever been to them), ibis, herons, and, yes, anhingas. At one point we were maybe three feet away from one hunting fish in the water--we watched him submerge, come up with a fish, flip it into the air, catch it and eat it, two or three times. Once, he missed.
Eventually we headed back, and hit the playground for ten more minutes. By the time we got home, the Zweeble was zonked. He revived a bit when I changed him into pajamas, so we had a little couch time and put him to bed. He's still a little chlorine-y, his feet are slightly dirty, and he's got some food stuck to his face. But that's okay.
Next time, I promised him rides on the mini-train and the funky bicycles. I promised me, too. :)
I am so glad I did that. It turned into a really, really lovely day.
So I packed a picnic dinner, changes of clothes, towels, water, sunblock, swim and regular diapers, and the usual necessities of life (BlackBerry and wallet) ... and we went to Lakes Park. This is the park with the water feature (where kids basically get to play in a variety of fountains), the mini-train, the train-themed playground, and, of course, water and walkways and birds galore.
dealio said he'd meet us there when he got off work.As soon as I told Z. we were going to the train playground, he helped me get him ready, found a book for the car, and babbled the whole way there about ringing the bells (there are these bells on the train-shaped playset that actually sound like train bells).
So we arrived, hit the playground, rang the bells, tried the periscope, drove the "train" forever, swung a bit, decided one of the tables on the playset was a grill ... then I realized I needed to lock the hatch of the car, so we went and did that. At which point the boyo decided he'd like to take a walk. Now, he's two feet tall, so a walk for him does not quite equal a walk for me, but it was a good sized walk for the little dude. He picked up a stick to use as a fishing rod, and we looked for water to fish in (there is no fishing at Lakes park, but I saw no signs prohibiting make-believe fishing).
As we were crossing a walkway, we found ducks. To whom we spoke. They ignored us, then flew away. Z. decided to fish for them.
We then found the new ice cream place, with surrounding deck and picnic tables out over the water, and looked for fish. We found birds--anhingas, which became the Z.'s new word for the day. He practiced it, and went through: "Flahingo," "manhiga," "hanmiga," and, finally, "anhinga." At which point he became a baby anhinga for most of the day. :)
His water was running low, so we went into the ice cream shop to get a bottle of water and found that we had to spend at least $5 to use a debit card ... so I had to buy a double scoop of ice cream, in a cone, to hit the $5 mark. Which is okay in one way, but not so much in another.
So we got a spoon, hit the deck again, and proceeded to eat the ice cream. The Zweeb would try and scoop the ice cream and not get much, so I'd help him. The ice cream got meltier and gooier, dripping all over us, the deck, the table ... and by then, any time he tried to scoop the ice cream, I had to stick my fingers in it to keep it from falling out of the cone (oh yes, cups didn't cost enough). So I made all kinds of silly noises about it, and he giggled and ate the stuff, and this older couple walked by and the lady was laughing at us both ... and I realized that I was feeling completely relaxed and having a really, really good time with my kid.
After that, we headed to the water feature. Which was colder than I expected, and probably colder than I should have let him play in, but the sun was very warm, so I just kept an eye on him. He got soaked, of course; we stuck our feet in different fountains; I ran through these rows of water jets, holding him like Superman; I'd swing him through the things. Probably the most fun was when he got the little water cannon and squirted me with it: I'd stand there and say, "Oh, you won't squirt me, I'm the Mommy, you won't--AAHH, YOU SQUIRTED ME!" And he'd grin and laugh as evilly as a two-year-old can ... then he'd have me squirt him, and he'd shriek and stamp his little feet and crack up.
Then I noticed his teeth chattering, so we went back to the car and got him warmed up--it was in the upper 80s today, so the car and the towels were very warm. The two of us got changed into dry clothes, phoned Scott to tell him we'd be over at the train yard, and headed back there--and within three minutes, Scott was there! Bearing meat and juice and Funyuns and sodas ... so we took Daddy to the deck and showed him the anhingas, ate dinner, hit the playground again, and took another walk.
Did I mention the Z. was fascinated with the soda and candy machines?
On our walk we saw red-winged blackbirds (the closest I've ever been to them), ibis, herons, and, yes, anhingas. At one point we were maybe three feet away from one hunting fish in the water--we watched him submerge, come up with a fish, flip it into the air, catch it and eat it, two or three times. Once, he missed.
Eventually we headed back, and hit the playground for ten more minutes. By the time we got home, the Zweeble was zonked. He revived a bit when I changed him into pajamas, so we had a little couch time and put him to bed. He's still a little chlorine-y, his feet are slightly dirty, and he's got some food stuck to his face. But that's okay.
Next time, I promised him rides on the mini-train and the funky bicycles. I promised me, too. :)
I am so glad I did that. It turned into a really, really lovely day.
