Picnic at Park on August 16, 2011

These photos are from the Tuesday Daniel and I spent with Elsa, Nanny, Poppy, and Aunt Jessie at the St. James Park.  We brought a Panera picnic (he had half a smoothie and a piece of bread for lunch) and then played.

It was such a great afternoon because everyone was happy.  It did rain a bit, but not too much.

Daniel's grandparents really played WITH him too, which is great.

Daniel said, "At the park! At the park!" a lot.  He also told us he wanted to go down to the pond (lake) and that he wanted his Poppy to do the swings.

Here are most of the photos from that day.

Though he looks happy, he didn't actually like these.  I think the bouncing was too much for him.  So instead, he enjoyed pushing them down and watching them rebound back up.

He liked watching his grandparents on the teeter totters, but I think I liked it way, way more!

(This might be my favorite non-baby photo I've taken all summer!  My parents could use it for a Christmas card photo, right?)

The playing didn't stop there.
My dad went down the slide first to entice DHH to play, because he was feeling cautious.
Sure enough, it worked!

 What a happy ride on the slide!

The whole time he was at my parent's, he insisted he wear his green fwog doots.
I had better get another pair in a size larger before they get discontinued at Target!
I personally dislike the boots because they are so goofy and the emphasize foot odor he naturally has, but I do like that he's learned to put them on by himself (and feels proud of this task!) and that he is excited about matching his father and grandfather, who also have doots.

 He had to wipe the slide because it was wet from the sprinkles of rain that began to fall.

Look at the flock of geese pecking in the field nearby!

And while everyone else played, Aunt Jessie spent some time cuddling her niece and kept her dry and happy  in the picnic pavilion.

I wish my son could have the memories from today stored in his little brain, but I know they don't save until after age three or so.

Hopefully though the impression of HAPPY and FAMILY and PLAY and SAFE and LOVE stick in his little brain and shape the way he sees the world.

I don't think I had a similar day of play with my grandparents because of their age.  I know several of my friends live far from their families, so I know DHH and EK are so lucky to have one of these days.

I am glad I took the photos as proof for them that they were so loved back in August of 2011 and that we had fun together as a family.