The Perfect Spring Day

Spring has arrived in Virginia and it couldn't have come soon enough! We are all enjoying the longer days, sunny afternoons and extra doses of fresh air. I've also discovered that Jack LOVES to play outside. Okay, okay, not so much play but he does seem to enjoy running around, rolling in the dirt and eating rocks. So much so that he'll stand at the door on rainy days begging to go out - "meee? mee?" or when we are outside, he generally throws a fit when it's time to come in. So my compromise lately has been to suggest playing on the deck. If I ever have things to do inside, I just open the front or back door and let Jack run around on what we like to call "the giant pack 'n play." He's gotten a few strange looks from neighbors walking by, who can't see me in the house, and are wondering why a toddler is racing back and forth, screaming, on the deck. But it works for us. Except when Jack decides to throw objects off the deck. I've retrieved a few toys from the driveway this week. And we finally found Jack's mising bib ... lying in the yard. Fortunately, I was able to stop him before he tossed the broccoli overboard.

So yeah, the decks are very convenient when Mom is cooking dinner or doing work. But they're only interesting for so long. What Jack really likes is being let loose in our teeny, tiny yard. And since we don't have any neighbors living next door, we borrow their's too. I haven't quite figured out a good system yet. I feel like I just stand there and follow him around making sure he's not eating anything illegal. And if I happen to blink for more than a second he's usually racing toward the street, standing two driveways over, or throwing rocks in the neighbor's central air unit. So I guess it's good exercise for me too.

A typical afternoon outside consists of:

Jack jumping in the biggest pile of dirt he can find ... our flower bed.

Jack attempting to ride his tricycle.

Jack re-arranging Dad's landscaping. What is it with boys and rocks?

Jack carrying around a stick until he falls and it breaks.

Jack finding and eating acorns.

Jack showing Mommy the flowers - yook, yook, yook!!

Jack falling down ... a lot.

In fact, I've noticed that lately my child has been more and more prone to injury. He's such a stinkin' risk taker, and I can't keep up with him. Everytime I turn around he's attempting to jump off some object or pull some trick without using his hands. He's going to give me a heart attack, or at the very least, send me into labor. And this particular day he almost did.

First, he pinched his finger while attempting to enter a child-proofed cupboard and ended up with two big blood blisters on his hand. Then while we were out on the deck grilling dinner, he crawled up onto the chair and then fell to the ground while still wedged between the seat and the arm. It took some interesting maneuvering to get him free, and he wasn't very happy about the process. Apparently Jon could hear him when he pulled into the driveway from work. Jack's always the first one done eating, so while I was trying to finish he was playing on the chair next to me at the table and walked off the edge, falling flat on the kitchen floor. More screams, more snot on Mommy's shoulder. After finishing dinner, we went outside to visit Daddy in the garage. Jack decided to run over to the neighbor's and, while trying to escape Mommy's lunge, headed right for the street and fell flat on his face in the road. Even I hurt after watching that one. Amazingly, there was no blood and all his teeth remain intact. And then, just a few minutes before bedtime, Jack decided to follow Mommy down to the garage to get laundry. I was walking up the stairs carrying the laundry basket and he was beside me and for some reason decided to turn around, face forward and then fell, head over heels down the stairs. I screamed. And Jon thought I was the one that had fallen. He didn't appear to have any injuries, but we were both a little shaken up. So he spent the rest of the evening snuggling with me on the couch until I was sure he was fine and would make it through the night.

Fortunately, one of the best parts of Spring, and a great cure for any little boy's injuries, is Rita's Italian Ice. And Jack is old enough this year to realize just how good this stuff is.

He's a major mooch. He'll stand by your chair, watching the spoon, and lean in with his mouth open wide hoping your hand will veer his direction. We thought for sure he'd be complaining of an ice cream headache after a few minutes, but nothing deterred him from helping Mommy and Daddy clean out their cups. And maybe the cold ice helped that bump on his head feel a little better too.