Playground Anyone?

With all the nice weather we've had this week, we have become playground aficionados! We'll head out to one playground in the morning, spend an hour or two there, and then come home for lunch and nap. And nap is a great, we spent 2 hours playing outside so now we're exhausted nap. After nap we'll have a quick snack before it's back outside, either to another playground or to the backyard. Even though it was a mild winter, we've all been feeling a bit cooped up, especially when you consider how neat and clean we've been trying to keep the house, so all this outdoor time is much needed!

And FYI, hopefully by the end of the week we won't have to worry about keeping the house clean at all. We accepted an offer on the house last week, and this week is the inspection and hopefully signing the purchase and sale agreement!

Now, on to the playground observations. First, both the boys love the swings (this is not really a surprise). Aaron will immediately run to the swing at the playground and say, "Higher." While he prefers the bucket swing (probably because I'll actually push him "higher" on it), he can safely ride on a "big boy" belt swing too. And for the rest of the playground activities, Aaron can pretty much keep up with Mudgie. There may be a few climbing things that Aaron is still just a little too small or unsteady for, but in terms of drive, he's willing to try just about anything. This is a completely different experience than when Mudgie was this age, when I would have to push him down the smallest of slides. Aaron will climb to the top of whatever structure he finds, and then send himself down the slide. His only sign of trepidation comes at the bottom of the slide, where, if it's too high off the ground, he'll wait for me to help him get down before he runs off to do it again.

Mudgie is also expanding his world. He can now spell his name, and is working on writing it too. He also asks the most insightful questions. I can't seem to think of any now, but there have been about half a dozen times this week when he asked a question and I thought to myself, "Wow. What a great question!"

My attempt to keep my stress from spilling over to the kids has been more successful than I expected. I'd say I've reduced my yelling and shortness with the kids by about 80%, and I've certainly noticed a change in their behavior. They listen better and have less meltdowns, but unfortunately not 80% less. In fact, Aaron has been more whiney and needy than usual this week, and I'm kind of at a loss to figure out why. My only guess is a growth spurt, since there have been days when he actually seems hungry (unusual for him), and he's been extra sleepy. Let's hope that whatever is causing it ends soon, because I want my happy goofball back!