Park, Gazebo & a Picnic to Share

Yesterday and today, we had the chance to play with some little friends while their parents worked on moving apartments. It was actually a lot more fun than it was work. They kept one another entertained (almost 4, almost 2, and almost 1 year old kiddos) for just about the entire time. Yesterday, we spent a few hours outside, which felt marvelous after being cooped indoors for so long. 

On a related subject: Guess what's happening outside right now? Yes. More rain and thunder. 

The time we spent outside seemed to fly by--we played at the park, took a walk, played at a gazebo, and ate our lunch 'picnic' style.  It was as good a picnic as could be expected when there is an 11 month old who thinks that it's great fun to crawl around the blanket and try to eat/drink everyone's lunch. Ah. Give me a chair to strap her in! 

Here are a few pictures from our grand excursion outdoors [the toddler version of a grand excursion]. Once again...didn't edit any of the pictures...but they will have to do! 

Sometimes, I catch glimpses of what Willow will look like when she grows up. 

The other children were perfect! They were patient, obedient, and exhibited self control. Very polite young ones! My baby on the other hand was definitely naughty. The cat in the above picture was an object of jealousy since EVERYONE wanted to play with the cat all the time. Willow does not know anything about sharing yet. The only thing that was exhausting about having three kids under 4 years old was having to referee my daughter constantly. Her sin nature was definitely rearing its nasty head. 


Lots of tantrums and fits. She had to be playing with everything the others were, and was Little Miss Grabby/Gimme. It was mentally exhausting. The only thing that I can think of to help her in this situation is having play dates more often so that she can learn how to co-exist with other humans her age....Or--I guess--by having more kids of our own. But I'm not ready for the latter yet--being a referee 24/7 is not my dream job. 

Spending these hours with the three little ones brought me back to my baby sitting days. I know that I can manage several young kids simultaneously and survive. It was good to be reminded of that. However, it was a bit strange. I'm used to getting to soak in every moment with Willow so that I can collect memories of her and stories to tell her dad when he gets home. With three kids, it was hard to divide my time equally, when they all had something to communicate to me or needed attention. It wasn't that watching three kids for several hours is particularly exhausting; but I still found myself tired because I kept imagining what life would be like with three kids. I don't know how moms do this! 

Willow is learning how to walk a bit faster now. She is trying so hard! 

This is my favorite!

Playing with the food that someone had picked and collected. We put it all back afterwards--it was just too hard to keep Willow away from it. And once she started playing with them, it was a free-for-all. 

She was so excited about the leaves! "Look mom!" 

Don't know what happened to my camera at this moment--but kind of cool. Not a great photo, but still interesting. 

That would be my chubby daughter who found the bag of pretzels like a pro and whipped it open. Before I could finish taking this picture she had crammed some in her mouth. How does she know these things? She hasn't had a pretzel in months! 

We ate sandwiches, yogurt, pretzels and bananas for lunch. I wouldn't recommend going on picnic, solo, with three little ones--one of whom cannot be contained. It is just hectic. All in all, we had a lot of fun with our little friends, and would love to have them over more often. If anything, maybe Willow will learn how to act with a little more compassion and understanding towards others.