Steve had a lot of meetings this week, so we were very busy at nights. He was out and about, and I was putting the kids to bed alone. (Something that's manageable, but sometimes difficult after a few days in a row). At any rate, on Wednesday, Steve volunteered to take Benny to his church meeting so that I could have just one child to get through the bedtime routine at a time. I was so excited. Usually Steve takes Kayleigh and leaves me with Benny, so having time alone with my sweet girl was a treasured event. We had been inside all day, so I decided to take her to the park. Again, since I didn't have Benny strapped on, I could walk with her instead of push her in the stroller (She's really begun to resent riding in it because it confines her independent spirit). I took it along anyway because I figured she'd tire out on the 1/4 mile walk to the park in 80+ heat. Apparently, I underestimated my baby girl. Here she is, not only walking the entire way (holding Mommy's hand nicely), but pushing the stroller for me as well.
After we got to the park, she kept me too busy to snap photos. We "flew" on the swings, belly first (something that is MUCH more difficult after two children--thanks Daddy for teaching her that one!), climbed the ladders to the slides, squeezed through tunnels, (Mommy only tried to follower her once on that one .. another reason to keep working hard to lose the baby weight!), and went down the slides together. She had such fun with Mommy joining her (usually I'm just watching because Benny can't climb with us in the Baby Bjorn). After the slides lost their luster (attention span: 15 minutes at most), she grabbed a stray soccer ball and started kicking it in laps around the play set. "Soccer ball, Soccer ball," she'd chant. (I knew better than to think she'd let me coach her on the Varsity tennis team :).) As a conclusion, she decided that the gravelly playground dirt, looked like, "The beach," and she proceeded to bury my feet in the sand. (More on this one in a future post).
When it was time to go, I bribed her with promises of juice and a bath (oohhh she needed it now), and we started home. I forced her to start the first leg of the trip in the stroller (mostly so we could hurry, but also because she was just SUCH a sweatball).
She got out after a bit and walked cheerfully home. As soon as we hit the doorstep she grabbed a "juice" for Mommy (Gatorade) and tried to put it in the fridge while I got her some apple juice. Then we did our bath routine and she slept 8:00 p.m. - 9:30 a.m. :) That's my baby girl! I'm so thankful to Jesus for the fun he gives us in this little angel. In my wildest dreams, I never would have imagined what a beautiful, intelligent, sweet, creative little girl God could create from within my body. Each time I look at her (okay, probably not during her tantrums) I'm reminded of how incredible my God is ... I am truly blessed.