We have had some joyful moments here lately. First, Ryan lost his first baby tooth and then had a lucrative visit from the tooth fairy. Then today, we headed down to one of the parks in our neighborhood and he overcame some fears while we were there. Take a look:
This slide is really tall, y’all. I mean, it’s 12 feet high at least. HUGE. And metal, and a little bit scary. Iain loves it and will go down with reckless abandon but Ryan…well, he’s my cautious child. In fact, he wouldn’t walk up the ladder at all until he saw Iain do it then he was all about it! The look on his face just warms my heart.
Then, even scarier than the 12ft slide was the (bum, bum, bum) See-Saw! He wanted nothing to do with it but then I offered to help him go up and down without going too fast. He was cool with that at first but then had to jump down because he got scared. They went and did something else then he decided he wanted to try it again, without my help…
He LOVED it! Oh how he laughed, and laughed!! It was a beautiful, joyful moment and it totally made my day to see him purely enjoying himself and not being afraid.
Iain also was thrilled that Ryan overcame his fear. he had been dying to try the see-saw and they just had so much fun together today.
Today was a great day!! We are so fortunate to live in this neighborhood. The trails are so much fun for us to explore year-round and we get to see some pretty interesting birds, too. There is this guy:
And at any given time, we hear owls, see huge hawks, and so many different kinds of birds it’s mindblowing! Sometimes the owls freak me out in the middle of the night though. Our neighborhood is well-loved by area birdwatchers and we get a kick out of them when we see them on the trails, too.
We were a bit of a hike from the park so we had to stop a few times and do this:
I stopped for the kids, you know. Not because I was tired. Nope, not me. 🙂
Don’t know how much we’ll be out and about as the week goes on because it’s supposed to get pretty darn cold here. I just wish we would have some snow to go along with the chilly temps!!!
So pretty!
And the heron is beautiful!
Glad you had such a wonderful day!!
Steph
Great pictures!
Your kids always look soo happy.
Well, be careful what you wish for! Here in Iowa we have at least 8 inches of snow on the ground and we’re supposed to get 3-5 more tonight. Temps? 7 below zero windchill.
Sigh.
What I wouldn’t give for a tad of warmth right now…
Thanks, Steph. 🙂
Chrissy, they always look happy only because I never take pics of them when they’re hating me. LOL Only kidding!! Sort of. 🙂 They’re pretty happy-go-lucky kids, really. I feel lucky.
Karen, I know you guys are totally covered up out there! 7 below windchill? Man, that is COLD. We’re going to see temps dip into the single digits this week for the first time since 2005. We just want one good snow!! We haven’t had one in a loooong time. Hope things warm up for you soon!
Awesome shots, dude! i tagged you by the way, see my place for info, if ya feel like playing along!-k
Your pictures are so good. Man! You’re doing the right thing doing photography as a pro.
Jesse has had a lot of fear too. It is really challenging for me at times to not feel responsible in some way for it. But it is his journey. I know how that feels when they overcome their fear. congratulations Ryan!