Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Toddlers and Time Changes–Part II

Hannah’s little time clock was still out of whack Sunday morning but she slept in….a little.  Rather than waking up at 5:30am she slept until **drumroll** 5:42!  Wheee…an extra 12 mins!  Thankfully Mommy’s clock was on the same schedule so it wasn’t too difficult for me to wake up with her.

Knowing it would still be a few hours before the rest of the house woke up we hopped in the van and set out on another early morning adventure.  Deciding coffee for mommy and apple juice for Hannah were in order we stopped at McDonald’s and picked those up along with a couple of hash browns and took them to the park.  Yum!IMG_0718

I should say now that the weather this week has been unlike any other time I’ve ever been to CA!  Normally it’s a beautiful 70-80o and can be a little chilly in the early mornings and later in the evenings.  Not this time!!  We’re hitting high 90s most days and even the early mornings (like 5:42am early mornings) it’s already reaching into the high 70s and low 80s which works wonderfully for enjoying outdoor time before many are awake.  I’ve just been changing Hannah’s diaper and then taking her out in her cute little pj’s when we go on our adventures.

This ‘little’ slide has a story behind it.  The day before the kiddos had been watering down the little slide in M3’s backyard and when they did they whooshed quickly down the slide.  Hannah thought it was a hoot as she landed on her little butt about a foot from the end of the slide.  I thought it might freak her a bit but nope, she just wanted more!  On this sunny morning we were at a beautiful park that M3 had recommended.  I noticed that the slide was wet from the night’s dew but I didn’t put 2 and 2 together and down she went….fast!!  She flew off the end and although a little startled by the distance she travelled she wanted to go again….with the instructions that Mommy catch her at the bottom.  I was only too happy to oblige!  Oh how I love my sweetie’s outgoing personality!

There were a number of cool toys for the kiddos to play on and Hannah tried almost every one of them.  She loves the adventure of pushing herself to climb a little higher than Mommy may be comfortable with but I don’t want to hold her back so I try to let her go.  This isn’t at the park but it gives you an idea of what she’s up to…literally!  Here she is in Ro and Ree’s playhouse!  I love this pic!!IMG_0771

Back to the park….a fun little swingIMG_0724

SpinningIMG_0726

Rocking

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BalancingIMG_0738

As we were driving home we passed through an area with a significant Asian population.  It gave me goose bumps to drive by a park that had people doing Tai Chi in it as well as ballroom dancing!  It reminded me so much of our time in China when we were blessed to see these things there!

China – A park in Changsha, Hunan - November 2009

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As we were driving home Sunday morning it warmed my heart to hear Hannah say from the back seat, ‘Park fun Mommy!  Again!’  Yes sweetie, if you’re awake tomorrow morning we may just head back to that park.  Or….you could sleep!  Smile

Fast forward 24 hours to Mon, July 4th.  Sunday had been a fun, busy day filled with a 4th of July party at M3’s and fireworks afterwards which meant the girls didn’t get to bed until after 11pm!!  I was sure this would be the morning that Hannah was fully switched and would sleep in….Not!  I’ll give her credit that she did sleep until 7:30 so I really can’t complain at all. 

Since it was later I decided to forego taking the van someplace and instead we gathered our stuff and headed to the back yard.  There is so much for Hannah to do out there although I’ve found her favourite thing by far is the sand box!  We don’t have one at home but I’m seriously considering purchasing one as Hannah has spent literally hours playing in Ro and Ree’s sandbox.IMG_0793

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This morning (Tues) Hannah slept in until 8:20.  Yay!  I think the time change is behind us and we have a number of days left to enjoy being together.  If she wakes up early?  Oh well!  We’ll head out on another adventure and see what fun we can find!!

6 comments:

  1. What fun! Have a great time. Hope she gets over the time issues soon. Love the morning hair in the first picture!

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  2. Since you mentioned the sand box and I know you have limited back yard space, I thought I would mention this. When I had my day care I had a container I used for different things. It wasn't very big but the kids loved it. It was maybe 15 inches by 7 or 8 inches. I would put beans or rice or other sensory things in it for them to play in. One time I did sand and they loved that too. It was so easy to take outside but then just put the lid back on and store in the house when we weren't using it. We still added water and played with shovels and had lots of fun! We also just tried M3's moon and recipe and love that too!

    Hope you guys survive the heat there! It's only supposed to be around 70 here today!
    -Jen-

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  3. Oh...the joys of the park! How simple yet so so so much fun.

    Love the fun you are having!

    Keep smilin!

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  4. Catherine,

    I love how detailed your posts are. That park looks beautiful. What a nice litte outing for you and Hannah to share breakfast and have some park time together! Keep the posts coming, I love reading about your trip!

    Stace

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  5. Early morning adventures = FUN!!!!
    You are such a fun mom!!

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  6. 8:20! Girl, you're getting spoiled now.

    Ruby

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