Spring

I am going to apologize right off the bat with this post. See, we have had such a fantastic week here. Spring has truly arrived, at least for a little while. And I have gone crazy with my camera. And I took so many great photos that show just how wonderful this week has been. They show how my little Miss just lights up when she goes outside. I’ve managed to capture just a little bit of the joy that bubbles forth from her and the wonderment that lights up her face as she experiences grass and sticks and leaves as if they are the most precious treasures in the world. So I’ll warn you. There are a lot of photos in this post! But man, spring is fun! My Miss is an outdoor girl for sure. We have spent as much time as possible outside this week. We started out with a light jacket outside, then midweek it was warm enough to ditch the jacket and play outside in just a long-sleeved shirt. Then yesterday and today were short-sleeves-and-bare-feet-in-the-stroller kinds of days. We went for walks. We played in the back yard, in the front yard, and today we went to the park. For starters, look what I found poking its little self up through the dead leaves in our backyard early this week:

Oh yes, the crocus. I love the crocus. What a brave and determined little flower to push up through the barely thawed ground and bring some brightness to the world before any other flower is courageous enough to do so. The daffodils are working their way up now too, but the crocus is always first. And after the long winter here, that little flower is such a welcome sight. Of course, the most welcome sight is the joy on my little one’s face when she gets her tiny self outside. She lights up like a Christmas tree and dances around. She wanders and explores. She picks up anything and everything that she finds interesting and carries it around like its really something special. I love to look at the world through her eyes. Early this week she played outside while my hubby grilled our dinner.

Midweek we played in the front yard for a good long time. Miss loved the warmth and the sun. She found sticks of all shapes and sizes. She talked on a leaf-phone. She thoroughly explored the grass. And then? Oh boy, she found dirt. She followed her Daddy over to a bed of shrubs and other plants and knelt down at the edge of the dirt and went. to. town. She dug her little fingers in the dirt and discovered the joy of lifting it over her head and letting it rain down over her. She ended up with dirt in her hair, dirt under her fingernails, and a ton of dirt down the back of her onesie. Bath time was an adventure that night! But I absolutely love that she isn’t afraid to explore and get dirty!!!

Today we went to the park. We have a terrific park nearby and Miss was in awe when we first got there. She quickly began toddling around and checking out all the park equipment. She tried out several different things, including the swing, the little rocking animal thing, the slide, and a bouncing, pseudo-teeter-totter-like thing. She loved the slide and the bouncing thing. She didn’t really care for the swing. Honestly probably her favorite thing was wandering around and checking out the wood shavings on the ground and playing in a pile of leaves against one fence. Unfortunately I forgot my camera today (I was kicking myself!!) so I only have a few photos I took with my phone, but you can get the idea.


I am definitely looking forward to the rest of this spring and summer and enjoying every moment with my new outdoor tour guide!