Carmichael Park and More Books

A New Park

We headed to Carmichael Park in the morning to meet Jenica and her daughters Elena and Elyse. It was a lovely little fenced in park with lots of shade and a play structure that was pretty ideal for Dom and Alex. They enjoyed all the new ladders and slides, plus a tunnel with peek-holes and a plastic bubble to look through. Alex really liked walking around on the “balance beam” curb after he saw some older kids doing it. Dom especially loved the bubble when people would beat on the outside of it while he beat on the inside; he also copied his brother later by walking on the “balance beam.” A preschool class of 4-year-olds came out to play for a half hour or so while we were there. The boys seemed to enjoy that and watch them, but after a bit, Alex decided he would rather walk around the perimeter fence by himself while they were outside. Alex climbed all the way up a tricky yellow ladder, though he did drop down once to hang from the top bar (at least halfway on purpose), and Dom later climbed to the top and then dropped through to hang. The guys enjoyed having a new place to explore with friends.

An Almost Nap

I thought after our outing that the boys might nap well, but I’m not sure they ever fell asleep. They did rest quietly–sometimes talking or laughing for about 2 hours. Then, Puck and I got them up. Both of them wanted Daddy to carry them into the living room, and they both gave him kisses.

Afternoon Activities

In the afternoon we danced a little, jumped a little, and colored robots and dinosaurs. Dom pulled everything out of the hallway cabinets and then wanted to climb inside. Alex soon joined him, and they pretended to sleep and had fun opening and closing the doors. They also put the letters “C” on their heads as “hats” and tried to give me a C hat too. After work, Puck got to join in on the coloring. We also read “The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything” right before dinner, and Puck got to see how the boys do the gestures and tell us what comes next. Alex was particularly engaged.

After dinner we played with megabloks while watching the presidential debates. Dom and Alex had a good time building and destroying towers, and then they also helped put all the pieces back together inside the tub. Dom even picked up a bunch of the tractors, cars, and trucks and lined them up on the shelves.

Bedtime

The guys sat on Puck’s lap for their final book of the night “Big and Little,” and they seemed to almost identify the two words on the pages. They really enjoyed the book, and afterward I rocked Alex in my arms while Puck rocked Dom in the rocking chair. They sang along with him again for “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” After we tucked them in their beds and started to leave, Dom suddenly stood back up and said, “Help.” I asked him what was wrong, and he said “Diaper.” I didn’t think he needed a diaper change, but I went ahead and got him out to double-check him on the changing table. Sure enough, it was just a stalling technique, but he settled right back down when I tucked him in again. Funny little boy.

Dom in his megablok tower. (Oct. 3, 2012)

Alex and Puck build another tower. (Oct. 3, 2012)

Alex, Puck, and Dom (behind the megabloks) work on a tall tower. (Oct. 3, 2012)

Dom cleans up. (Oct. 3, 2012)