Shootin' hoops

Last night, we took Squiggles to his very first college basketball game. Brian scored some free tickets through work, so we decided that it would be fun to go and we wouldn't have to worry about leaving early if we needed to.

And guess what? It WAS fun. Lots of fun! Until the end when Squiggles got hungry and tired of sitting still. So we didn't leave on the most positive note, but we still had fun.

It's actually amazing to experience some things through his eyes. For example, our tickets were general admission, same as most students, so we ended up just a few rows up from some college hoops fanboys. You know, the guys who go shirtless and paint their chests? Anyway, normally I would ignore them or begrudge their taunting, but not Squiggles! No sir, he was fascinated by these guys. When they cheered, he waved his arms and squealed. He clapped when anyone in the stands clapped (for either team!), and he desperately wanted to get down on that court and play with the ball. He was just so captivated and excited by all that was going on around him, Brian and I couldn't help but be more excited about everything, too.

It really is great to see things through a child's eyes.

Picnic in the Park

It was such a gorgeous, sunny, mild morning here that I decided to take Squiggles out for a picnic in the park. My original plan was to take him to a wonderful park we've heard about which is only about 10 minutes away from us, but I was unaware of the $3 entry fee and didn't have the cash. So we just headed to our favorite free park and had a great time playing and enjoying our PB&J sandwiches. So much so that I had to carry Squiggles away when it was time to go home and take a nap! I'm glad we left when we did, though; our sunny morning had turned cloudy by the time we got to the park, and by the time we left it was starting to rain. Oh well, better than the snow forecasted back in Ohio!

Funny story: when I first took Squiggles to the park when we first moved here, I thought it was odd that there were no other children at the playground I found. It was a nice little playground, and Squiggles was perfectly content playing by himself, but I couldn't help but think that there should have been at least a couple of other kids there.

He loved playing peek-a-boo in the tunnell...

...but it took him a while to work up the courage to go down the slide. Whee!

Fast forward to our second visit, where I spied a large, shade covered play area tucked in toward the back of the park. Aha! Here there were lots of kids and mommies and, eventually, an entire class of preschoolers or kindergarteners (which was our, and all the other moms of toddlers, cue to leave). I love how large this playground is, with several benches and picnic tables, plus there are plenty of tall trees for shade, and the ground is covered with soft, spongy pine needles. The pine needles remind me of home, especially now during autumn.