A Walk in the Park

It was a beautiful spring late/afternoon evening, a bit chilly but overall it was lovely outside so I decided to take Mallory to our local park. Jillian stayed home with daddy. I pushed Mallory in her favorite red car ride on toy, she calls it "Malo's car" and off we went...

Typically Mallory loves the swings but this time we focused more on the slide. She's learning to climb up the stairs all by herself and is getting braver at trying to go down the slide by herself. It's so funny to think last spring/summer we were pretty much limited to the swings because she wasn't even crawling yet at this time last year.

This time we also walked a little of the path leading into the savanna near the park. We explored dandelions, sticks, and grass. Mallory is still a little unsure of her outside elements but it will be fun to watch her as she discovers the beauty of nature. I hope to provide her as many opportunities as possible to expose her to the great outdoors. I want her to love it like I did; to splash in rain puddles, catch fireflies, pick bouquets of dandelions, make mud pies, and to see the outside world in a way that only a child could! I'm not sure why but we somehow seem to lose that wonderment of nature as we get older. I can't remember the last time I picked up a dandelion blew the seeds and made a wish, however there's nothing like a walk in the park to give you those moments again and there's nothing like sharing it with your 22 month old daughter!

Chocolate Fest

It's been a couple of weeks but I still wanted to post pics from Chocolate Fest in Long Grove. It was our first family of four outing and we had a great time on a beautiful day! One of my goals this summer is to try and get out and about, taking advantages of the free events (or mostly free) in the Chicagoland area. This was our first fest of the season and hopefully we will attend many more throughout the summer.

Baby Jillian slept the entire time in our new double stroller.

Mallory loved riding in the front like a big girl!

Mallory loved her first chocolate covered strawberry!

Waiting in line for Mallory's first pony ride!

She had a great time until the very end when she cried

because the pony shook it's whole body and it scared her.

Daddy showing Mallory that the ponies are fun and friendly even though they shake!

The day ended with a ballon guy making Mallory a monkey balloon!

When swings could make you fly...

When swings could make you fly... Originally uploaded by trishm2girls

This photo reminded me of an oldie from the archives... When swings could make you fly and the sand filled up your toes. When grass asked you to run and the flowers touched your nose. Pictures weren't for poses and laughter wasn't planned. Friendships weren't for sale and freedom was the land. I can still remember when a watch was worn for fun and the only time we kept was determined by the sun. When before our hearts were broken and the pain took up the time. We loved without the fear of being left behind. I can still remember when a secret could be kept, and our hands were held through thunder on the nights we never slept. Pictures weren't for poses and laughter wasn't planned. Friendships weren't for sale and freedom was the land.