68 degrees in February!

This afternoon we ended up at a neighborhood park with 3 other baby friends and moms from playgroup. The weather was incredible.

Isaac and one of his favorite friends, Oliver.

Isaac climbed the playset and got to the top of the slide, then sat there for 20 minutes. The picture does not lie; it's a tall slide and quite steep too. Pretty intimidating for a one-year-old. Isaac was scared to go down but determined not to give up. He sat...and sat...cheering on the older kids who leapt past him and slid down (grins and "weeeee!") But still didn't move. He did this last time we were there too, until a friend finally climbed up to give him a friendly push.

Below, joined by Maya. Neither was quite brave enough to go down.

Danielle tried to show them which way to go.

Soon our mini-playgroup was blocking the slide for the other kids. Finally Maya went down, with the help of her mom. Danielle made it down too. I didn't think Isaac would do it, but suddenly he pushed himself forward and took off. I caught him in a hug at the bottom. What a big boy.

And on to other things, like swings.


After the girls left, Isaac and Oliver discovered THE BIKE. A pink and purple princess bike with training wheels, belonging to an older girl. They were fascinated. They approached it slowly, circling. Isaac stroked the screws; Ollie started to spin the wheels. When the boys began to wheel it away from its resting spot, the young owner appeared looking very concerned. She took it to her dad for safe-keeping. Isaac stared after the bike forlornly, waved and said, "Bye - bye..."
Luckily, the dad was very nice and offered to let the boys sit on the bike.

Isaac sat completely still.

He can say "wheel" perfectly and can also name the pedals and seat.

The girl watched suspiciously as Isaac examined her bike and looked for treasures inside the little attached bag.


When the family left to go home and grill burgers, Isaac ran after them, doing the car / drive sign and making driving noises (hands turning a steering wheel, plus "ahhhHHHHH"). Then he cried as he realized they were really leaving.

But then we found the riding toys. Below, he loved the see-saw. They make them so much better these days - no more plummeting to the ground when your thoughtless friend suddenly jumps off...

Note the awesome sweater that our talented friend Megan made for Isaac and brought us today! I showed it to Isaac and told him who made it, and he grabbed it and gave it a hug. Then he said "on" and tried to put it on himself. It was great because the wind was picking up, and I hadn't brought him a jacket. Every time the subject of the sweater came up, all afternoon and until bedtime, Isaac grinned and said "TANK-YU!" He's all boy when it comes to bikes, but he sure did appreciate his new sweater...

Love this shot...