An Afternoon at the River

The weather lately has been very pleasant, so a couple Fridays ago, Eli and I took a little trip down to the river walk. My whole intention of going was so that I could get some exercise and he could enjoy being outside. I packed up the jogging stroller (it may be called a jogging stroller, but this mama doesn't jog/run unless I'm being chased) and off we went! No sooner had I parked, unloaded the jogging stroller, strapped Eli in, and started walking with him when I heard a little voice say, "Mama...get owwt!" So I was faced with the dilemma so many parents are faced with on a daily basis....not give in thus prompting a loud tantrum from the little one or just simply say "yes" and let him enjoy his day doing what he wanted to do. I guess you'll be able to tell I decided to go with the latter and I'm SO GLAD I did. Eli had so much fun just getting to be a kid! He wanted to run, climb, explore, swing, and push the stroller the entire time we were there. It was so much fun watching him having fun.

This is all Eli wanted to do the entire time we were down there. If I even put my hand on the stroller, he'd place his hands on me and say, "Stop, Mama. Back!" He's definitely stretching those little wings right now :)

After our short walk down by the river, we decided to cool off in the sprinklers on the way back to the car. Eli's little face had gotten so red from all the running and playing he'd done on our walk, so a cool down was a must for him. He ran from sprinkler to sprinkler laughing and having the best time...until he decided to look down at a particular sprinkler just as water was coming out of it. Yep, water up the nose! Ouch! I gathered him up, made sure he knew he was going to be okay, and we headed to the car. These are the days that I truly feel so blessed to be a Mama. It's the best job around!