Fun at the Park

If it hasn't been made clear in my previous posts, Owen is full of energy.  This little kid

can just go and go and go.  So when the weather permits and we don't have anything

else going on, a typical day means going to the park in the morning, and then

back to the park after he wakes up from his afternoon nap.  

It gives me a chance to get some exercise (I try to walk to some of the farther parks) and it

gives Owen a chance to run around and burn off some energy.  Perfect activity!  The best part is Oak Park has SO many parks to choose from.  And a lot of them have Tot Lots which mean the equipment is geared towards toddlers.  Lower to the ground, shorter slides, etc.  And all of them have turf underneath which make it safer for my little speed demon.

Thankfully he has become much more steady on his feet.  I used to have to follow one step behind him to hopefully catch any crazy falls, but now it is easier to let him be.  He still

prefers to run over walk which means there are times when his feet just can't keep up and he tumbles, but for the most part he is pretty steady, which is a relief.  

Now our new dilemma is this kid if fearless!  

He's started trying to walk up and down the stairs on his feet rather than crawling up or scooting down.  He doesn't quite realize that he is not completely balanced and if he falls, he has a whole flight of stairs to tumble down, not just one or two.  And when we're at the park, if there is a ledge on the equipment that he wants to scoot off, he'll turn around, lay on his belly and keep scooting over the edge until his feet find the ground.  Thankfully most of the ledges are only 2 stairs high at the most, so he does fine.  But there are some parks where the ledge goes off to a rope ladder or some other activity and is 6 feet tall.  He gets on his belly, and scoots his little body over the edge the same way he would on the shorter ledge.  So while I try to sit back and let him play and explore, we're not quite at the point of him being on his own just yet. 

One of the funnier things we've noticed about Owen lately is he has gotten a lot more vocal.

If he gets excited, upset, or just wants to let everyone know how he's feeling, he's not shy.

I would love to know what he is thinking.  He speaks as if he knows exactly what he is saying

even though I haven't got a clue what he is saying.  He just sings, talks or yells to himself.

 

  

The best was when we were in Wausau this past weekend. We were at dinner and he and my nephew Aiden were sitting across the table from each other. Aiden was singing a song to him and drumming on the table and Owen was drumming along.  Grandpa, who was sitting right next to Aiden started drumming along too.  Owen immediately stopped what he was doing, got a stern look on his face and started shouting gibberish at Grandpa.  Once Grandpa stopped, Owen and Aiden picked right back up where they left off, laughing and singing.  Just to see what would happen, Grandpa started drumming again.  Sure enough Owen stopped drumming, whipped his gaze around to Grandpa and very seriously scolded him.  Maybe he was trying to tell him he was drumming off beat, maybe he was trying to tell him this game was only for him and Aiden, but either way it was absolutely hilarious.  I think we are going to have our hands full once this little guy really starts talking.  Until then, I'm enjoying his funny little one man conversations.