Feeding the Ducks

As promised, we took advantage of the sunny afternoon to head to the park near our house after work today. Since Friday nights are the ultimate night for staying up late (i.e. sleeping in as late as possible), I wanted to run those little legs ragged. When I picked him up at school, their treat cart was outside, meaning he had been out playing and running for a while. Great! Fresh air tends to wear him out.

It's a decent round trip from our house to the duck pond and back, including a hill, but we've done it before, so the stroller stayed neatly stowed (we haven't used it in a couple months actually) and we headed out with our zip lock bag full of bread.

Along the way, Ian spotted a bike. One of his favorite things. He knows we have bikes hanging from the rafters in the garage and if he happens to see the garage door open, makes a beeline to stand and stare at them, and ultimately groans for someone to pick him up for the sheer bliss of touching or spinning a tire. The same goes for the partial inclusion of a bicycle painted abstractly into one of the prints in our kitchen. He spotted it from across the room one day and it's one of the first things he wants to see when he enters the room. If only life were so simple forever.

After seeing the bike, we headed up a hill to the pond. It's a decent grade that challenges my cardiovascular fitness, but this is his second hike up the hill and hasn't required assistance either time. Very impressive. I'm getting over my fear that he's going to fall any second. I'm slowly realizing that he will fall forward onto the gravel or pavement eventually. It's just a matter of time. I invested in supplemental accident insurance for him at work...so live on the edge kid. We can afford it now!

The pond is fenced (thankfully), so it meant I couldn't let him go wild with the bread and stand back to take pictures. I held him on the middle rung of the fence and did my best to capture the action. He couldn't quite throw the bread far enough to reach the ducks, so I did most of the throwing and he called out DUCK and pointed if one of the 2 dozen or so ducks didn't see the bread floating near it. He was a little frustrated that they wouldn't come closer to let him pet them, though. This is one of the reasons why I'm antsy to get him to the zoo. I think he's ready for the petting farm. I can hardly wait.

We played in the grass near the pond for a while, then headed toward home. Sunny, yes. Warm, not completely. It was pretty windy and neither of us had jackets. Ian continued his discoveries, though. He came upon a rock wall that was pretty fascinating "OCK! OCK!", a tree, and finally a lamp post greeted him before we were finally back on familiar land.

Shawn has a scuba trip tomorrow morning, so Ian and I will have to either get creative or resolve to be lazy. We'll see what the day brings...Hopefully it brings a late sleeper. Anything else is icing on the cake.

Pointing at the boys riding their bikes. He was reluctant to move on. It must look like magic to him.

Heading up the hill. Feel the burn, Ian!

Invasion... Those ducks didn't waste any time making a beeline for the boy with the bread.

He enjoyed it, but was irritated that the ducks weren't coming close enough to pet.

I just happened to like this shot. My Mr. Silly.

Me and my shadow.

Sorry to whoever owns these azaleas. No Uh-wuh (flower) is safe. It was cute when it was dandelions and buttercups, but try explaining to a 2 year old that this isn't the same thing. Oops.

Ian VS. the giant rock

Ian VS. the lamp post

Ian VS. the tree