We are lucky to have pretty mild winters here. Even when the days are rainy such as today, we are able to find short patches of dry time to get outside and play. With two little boys, that is important! How have we occupied ourselves?
1. Sidewalk chalk! Elias has really loved doing sidewalk chalk. Now that we can just go right outside our front door, it is much easier. (Although it still takes almost as long to get the boys bundled with hats, coats and shoes as we end up spending out there). Here are the boys enjoying sidewalk chalk in our driveway:
2. Baseball! Elias loves to play baseball in the backyard. He is getting pretty skilled at hitting off the tee. Even though he always comes in with muddy boots, it is worth it to see how happy it makes him even just to hit a few balls. Elias also got to “help” Daddy rake the leaves in the back yard. He instinctively kicked all of the leaf piles so it’s official: he’s a little boy.
Simon, though, does not often get to participate in the backyard play. He’s not very steady on his feet…he mostly crawls….so I’m a mean mommy and either put him in the stroller or ergo or keep him inside if Daddy is home. On Sunday when Daddy and Elias went out to play, Simon went up to the sliding glass door and banged and banged on it with his little open hands to show he wanted to go out. He would get excited when Daddy would look up at him, and then pound some more when he looked away. When I came up to him with the camera to take pictures, he just looked at me in confusion and then disgust (once he realized I was not going to help him). It was sad, though, in the end when he just looked out into the backyard at all the fun being had with a solemn expression on his face. He knows what it feels like to be left out. Poor little guy. He’ll be old enough soon! (Too soon for me).
3. Bike riding! One of the things I was most excited about when we moved to the house was having our bikes again…and the bike trailer! This afternoon when I spotted a break in the rain, I bundled the boys up and stuffed them into the bike trailer. It’s a comfy ride, but quite snug with both of them in there. The boys loved riding in the bike trailer. Elias kept shouting, “We’re here behind you, mommy! We’re coming!” Elias also gave me directions on where he wanted me to go. He told me whether to turn right or left or to go straight. He encouraged me to go faster. Simon just enjoyed looking out the “window” of the trailer. We explored our new neighborhood a bit. Either I am not in good biking shape…or that trailer is really heavy with both boys in it! But it was good for all of us to get some fresh air, and I’ll be looking for lots of biking opportunities in our future!
Here is a picture of the boys in the trailer. I snapped this right before we left so they are both looking at me slightly annoyed. I believe Elias said to me just before or after this, “Let’s go!” Who has time for pictures when there is fun to be had!?
