Loving Life

This child loves time outdoors in just about every form or fashion, particularly when he's directing his own destiny. The stubbornness is strong with this one, as is evidenced by every attempt to get him into a vehicle and out of the vehicle once we get home. But while he's outdoors, he's a happy camper, even though we've had cold, windy weather lately. (Wisconsin in February is not the most ideal. Seriously, I never heard of a snow squall before last week, but I discovered what that was when I was driving in it.)

We spent some time outdoors this weekend. Dave, Teddy and I visited a nature preserve without a specific plan in mind. We wandered mostly where Teddy's legs carried him, tried sledding in a few spots and perhaps fell off the bank several feet down. Good thing Teddy is durable and remarkably unfazed by something like that ... unlike Dave. As long as we don't have plans to do a specific hike or walk, it's quite enjoyable to follow Teddy's lead. It eliminates a lot of the power struggles we sometimes encounter. I've also learned from our childcare providers that making things fun like playing Red Light, Green Light or fun, stomping walking or giving him a stick can make walks more enjoyable. Sometimes he needs a distraction to keep him focused, if that makes sense.

You can feel the joy, can't you?

We also spent some time at a park on Sunday when it was unseasonably warm (and therefore a soggy mess) and windy. Even though the temperature didn't require snow pants, we wore them anyways in an attempt to stay drier. *Shakes head at silliness* Teddy was quite pleased to discover the puddles to stomp in, slip around in (because there was ice under the water) and generally play. He also found a ball to carry around and send down slides. It was great to spend time outdoors and simply playing at Teddy's level.