Last week Daniel had to get up reeeeeally early for an online business meeting (it started at 4 am. Yeah.) It was supposed to go for several hours, so once Naomi was awake and we’d eaten breakfast I got us out of the house. We walked to nearby Lavender Bay, which is two towns east of us. That makes it sound far, but it’s really not. It’s slightly less than a mile away (one nice thing about running a pretty consistent 10-minute mile is that you always know about how far away things are when you run to them: case in point, the week before I’d run into the heart of Lavender Bay in about 10 minutes). On that earlier run, I’d noticed another park there, and this one had swings (Naomi’s favorite) and an extra-long slide, which our nearest park lacks. So I decided to take her there.
We had a really sweet, relaxed and fun Mommy-daughter morning. No special stories, just a special time. I thought I’d share some pictures.
Naomi, showing you a grassy cattail-ish thing we found on the ground on our walk to Lavender Bay. I should know the name for it, but I can't remember.
Lavender Bay actually has lots of lavender planted around town, so much that I could actually smell it as I was walking around! I loved that.
If you sometimes envy the photos Daniel takes of our trips, let the above out-of-focus photo make you feel better. This is what trips would look like if I was the one taking the pictures. Actually, scratch that. We wouldn’t have any photos because I just wouldn’t get around to taking any.
The super-duper slide!
Naomi wasn’t altogether sure she wanted to go down it. Once she climbed up to the top, she said she wanted to hold my hand. Then she wanted me to ride it with her. Then not. Then she just went for it, all by herself! But, after mustering all that courage, this is how the ride on the slide turned out:
[vimeo clip_id="28400538" height="" width="650" title="0" byline="0" portrait="0"]It didn’t end up being fast… at all. It was either her rubber-soled shoes slowing her down, or the early morning dew making it sticky. But it didn’t matter, she immediately wanted to do it again, and did it at least 3 times before moving on.
After leaving the park, Naomi helped me push the stroller along the bay. We stopped here to eat a snack.
The steps we ate our snack on were right on the water - picked out by Naomi of course!
It was a bit nerve wracking for me because she kept wanting to get right next to the water, exclaiming at the bubbles and the splashing, and I was trying to find the right boundaries to let her have fun but meanwhile keep her out of the icy water!
The final event, and high point, of the morning was watching this large black Labradoodle playing fetch with his master in the water.
These are two other random shots that weren’t from Lavender Bay, but I thought I’d throw them in anyhow.
Daddy and Naomi exploring the roots of a large ficus tree at the Botanical Gardens.
One morning, this cockatoo was drinking from a puddle on the roof across from us. We thought he looked like he was about to whip out a top hat and break into song and dance.
So many great memories you are making. Glad you’re sharing it on your blog…even photos you take, Katie. :)
Pigtails, pink & denim overalls. Totally takes me back to yours and Erica’s toddler days. I’m so glad you are relishing these fleeting days, my love. I love the look on Naomi’s face in the first picture.
We’re packed, and leave in just over 24 hours! See you soon, sweetie. xoxo