In With The New ...

The new playground is here. They moved its location; it's behind the school, now, so it's no longer in view from the house, but it's definitely close enough.

I'm a little disappointed with it, though it feels strange to say that since it costs $70,000+. Seems like we should be thrilled with a playground made of that kind of money. It's definitely more age appropriate for its location, at an elementary school ... it's just not age appropriate for my one year old. Not yet. But he'll grow into it.

This play set has just one entrance ramp; all others points of entrance are a little too advanced. Still, he finds the ramp just fine. The big slides didn't deter him; he's been down similar ones before. Even the 'big kid' swings appealed to him. He ran around this new structure just as he explored every new environment -- with vigor.

But on our third or forth visit to the park he had a run-in with the slide. It curved, he didn't, and he came out the bottom with battle wounds: a slide burn on his chin. Poor fellow. He hollered for a minute and then brushed it off.

Surprisingly, unlike other bumps and bruises he has acquired, the affects of this run-in lasted longer than the bodily marks. Weeks later, Calvin still hesitates at the top of slides. He'll climb up to the top of any ladder and sit down, but doesn't go farther than that without pause.

I hate that he's been hurt on a play set, but am thankful that my little daredevil is demonstrating a little more caution. It seems ... age appropriate.

For now he can run around the structure and throw little stones down the big slides. And in the meantime, there's one thing that's just perfect for him: music. There are some hollow poles that chime in a scale sequence when batted.

New Playground = New Friends

The neighborhood playground is complete (stay tuned for details) and has already produced fun for local kids and adults!

Cal and I wandered down to scout it out and found a neighborhood family doing the same. The adults chatted as the kiddos explored and soon enough, Mom was asked for a play date! As Calvin went down for the night, I met a couple of other 'girls about town' for a drink. One of them, Sherrie, has a 17-month old son, too! She invited Calvin and me to join her (and a local Mom & Me group) at the park for a picnic. We gladly accepted her invitation.

We convened, along with one other mom and her two sons, at a park in Burlington (a neighboring city) nestled alongside a river with a waterfall and a kickin' playground set.

It turns out that Grant is just five days younger than Calvin, so the two of them toddled along beautifully together. I think Cal might be a smidge taller, but they are remarkably similar. Grant was a little quiet today, but studied his surroundings and knew just what was happening all around him. Meanwhile, Calvin was climbing the ladder to the tallest slide, providing a gibberish play-by-play as he went.

It was an active day, but the two did manage to sit comfortably for a while on the see-saw with Sherrie on the other end bobbing them up and down. They were thrilled, but you'll have to take my word for it. I didn't have my camera close by (gasp!) so we recreated the experience before heading home. Note the tired, "you've got to be kidding me!" expression on Grant's face; Calvin provided the soundtrack.

It's A Race

They say "a picture is worth a thousand words", and I think it's especially true for this one. This really captures life for us these days.

Calvin is racing forward, head first and wide-eyed, while Dad (it could just as easily be Mom) is trying to get out of the starting block.

Our little daredevil has no (apparent) fear. He'll barrel down a slide, come up with a mouth full or rocks, get up and do it again. It's a full-time job to keep him safe, but it's pretty fun, too.