SWOOP! SWING! SPLASH! and. . . STUCK!

I'm almost embarrassed to write because it's been so long. But I've got to start somewhere. I can't write because I think "my public" is interested in reading. I write for my kids to have a family journal with pictures. So, here we go. Start with today and gradually work toward last summer. Ay-yay-yay!

This morning we decided to go to the park. Yes, it was very wet. No, I didn't care. We pulled on our rain-boots and proceeded to the local park. Lillian did a lot of noodle-ankled near falls along the way- her knees would be telling the story if I hadn't been holding her hand. She's still getting used to walking in the boots that she adores oh-so-much! "Boots?" she asked me as she banged them together in the garage before we headed out. "Boots?" she reminded me pointing to her bare feet when I opened her door when we'd arrived at the park. On they went and off we walked down the paved trail but not before Lillian did her little practice sashays that she does when she's excited about the shoes she has on, which is often. Saying the girl loves shoes is an understatement. Over the basketball court where the 4 gals paused their Frisbee toss as we SLOWLY made our way to the other side and over to the playground.

Lillian ran with elbows swinging wildly toward the swings while Taggart ran with his lingering toddler chest and belly out as if he arched his back any further maybe he'd get there sooner. Taggart climbed to top of the 8 foot climbing wall and requested that I watch him jump off. "But I've done it before," he reasoned when I told him I didn't think it was a good idea. "But you ARE strong," he responded when I told him that Daddy is stronger than me and can catch him when he jumps off. Instead, I suggested that I could watch him go down the tall windy slide. As he climbed to the top I noticed the big puddle of rain that had collected from last nights rainfall at the end of the slide. Sure enough, his bottom went right in, he loved it, and for the rest of the time he happily ran around with a wet bottom.

I pushed them on the swings, they climbed, they got behind the steering wheels and pretended, I helped Taggart climb the arched ladder thing with loops that hand down perpendicular to the ground, Lillian cleared the steps of mulch bits, Taggart stood on one foot on top of the ladder to the monkey bars while he pretended to be scared, and we ran around underneath the playground equipment. In between all of this Lillian came to me sticking out her tongue that was covered in little mulch bits, yes, the same kind she'd been clearing from the steps. I don't know if she thought it was a better place for them or if the previously mentioned "noodle ankles" caused her to fall and literally eat it. Taggart came down the big slide again and as he came I heard him saying, "It's a good day" over and over. I was glad that he felt that way.

For a few minutes I followed them around with my camera until it died. I really wish I'd saved some juice. If only I'd known how cute they'd look all dirty and wet by the end of our trip to the park.

Suddenly, I heard Taggart's voice booming at me. It took me a second to realize that it was coming from those little megaphone type things that are connected to the smaller jungle-gym. As I bent down to reply to him I could only see his knees and boots but he was definitely doing the potty dance. Just a few days ago he had his first accident in a LONG time and I wasn't anxious for a repeat. When I addressed it he said he wanted to go on the trees. Thanks, Austin. You did it. You've shared your passion with our son. He's a tree-pee-er. I remembered that we had an empty bottle in the car just for this purpose. I convinced him that the girl on the lawn mower in the baseball field next to us might get upset if he did that and he came with me back to the van. Although, not right away. He had to run off away from me tightly holding the crotch of his shorts just long enough to make me scared. I'm so glad he's a boy. I'm hoping by the time Lillian is potty training I'll be good at making sure we all "go" before we leave the house. I screwed the cap back on the bottle and gave it to him and told him he needed to look for a trash can to put it in. As I unbuckled Lillian from her car-seat where she'd been waiting, I looked through the open doors of the van to see Taggart turning the bottle upside down and twirling it in every direction. I suddenly questioned if I'd screwed it on tight enough.

We went back and played a little longer. I kept an eye on Taggart while I sat down under the covered picnic area while Lillian ran toward me then throwing her arms around my knees when she'd made it back. She'd run back to her starting line down at the end of the aisle made by the two long rows of tables with their ends pushed together. I loved watching her smile and hearing her voice warble with each stride as she yelled "Mommy!"

We joined Taggart for some more splashing in the water that had collected at the bottom of the slide. Lillian's entire chest was soaked. They were so generous and tried to share their water with me. We then followed Taggart as he made his way over to what I imagine used to be the post for a volleyball net but is now just a rusty post cemented into a tire. Lillian followed him and they turned the cranks as fast as they could. Taggart rambled over to the basketball court. "Puddle!" he said and turned around as if asking for permission. I smiled. Permission granted. He ran to it and marched in it. Lillian followed. She leaned over and splashed her hands in it. He did the same. She sat down and splashed. He mimicked. She laid back and rolled to her side with her curly head almost touching the blacktop, "Ni-night," she said with a giggle. He did the same. They continued splashing, laying on their bellies, copying each other and giggling together. They got up and wandered in different directions. Taggart came over to me and told me he wanted to go home. As I walked back to the van, I looked back and saw them stealing a few more moments splashing in the puddles but then they came and we all held hands as we walked back. I could hear water sloshing in their boots. It brought peace to me.

I took off Lillian's wet clothes, dumped out the water from her boots, put on a dry diaper and buckled her in. She looked tired. I winced when she put her thumb in her mouth. Taggart didn't even want to try to take his wet clothes off. Instead, he ignored my requests. Finally, I asked him if he wanted help and he said yes. I don't blame him. I don't like the struggle of taking off wet clothes either. I looked in the glove compartment but didn't have an extra pair of undies for him so instead I used a knit tie-dyed dress that I keep in there for Lillian and put the skirt part over his bum and pulled the top through his legs and up to his belly. It covered rather well.

They ate a rather uneventful lunch of leftover spaghetti with broccoli bits stirred in. Taggart asked me to make faces in it. He loves when I arrange the food for his lunch to look like a face or a rainbow or something. I plopped some olives on top. "I-do-I-do-I-do!" Lillian wanted some too but by the time I got to her bowl she only had a bite or two left so I just dumped a handful in her bowl. "Eyes, mouth. . . Hey! Where's his nose?" I plopped one more olive on Taggarts bowl. "Look! He only has one eye like Yo [ah]Gabba-Gabba!"

Then came time for the end of meal treat (that Lillian had been asking for before she sat down at the table). I gave Lillian 4 caramel corn Jelly Belly's and Taggart 4 fizzy Skittles. I cleaned up while they finished that. I brought a wet rag over to wipe faces, hands, and the table when Lillian started to fuss and put her finger in her nose. "She's going to give herself a bloody nose like she did to me yesterday" I thought to myself about what it felt like to have one of her little razor blade fingernails up my nostril. Then I noticed that she had something in her nose. A stray noodle? It was a JELLYBEAN! I was bracing myself for another emergency room visit. Oh, and they haven't had a bath yet! Well, I gave it a try. I pinched her little nose on one side of the jellybean and used my fingernail as I tried to birth it out the other end. I had a moment of panic, pulled myself together just in time for it to pop out. {Sigh} Without thinking I put the jellybean on the table. Lillian picked it up, gave it a quick glance over, then popped it in her mouth. I'm glad she learned.