Yesterday at the park, each of the boys had their moments that are worth sharing. We'll start from oldest to youngest.
Connor, who is big for his age, is often mistaken for someone much older. A group of older girls (probably ages seven or eight) came over and started playing on the see-saw where he was. It's a four-seater, and usually the taller people go on the back of each two-seat section so their legs will touch and get better bounces. One of the older girls kindly pointed this out to Connor, and asked him very nicely if he would mind trading places since the other girl was taller than he was. He stared at her blankly. He is only three, after all. He liked his seat and logic was not going to interest or sway him, even if he did understand her. Thankfully, Mommy was nearby and overheard the conversation. I explained, in simple terms, that if he would move forward one seat they could all bounce higher. Now that, my friends, got him moving. Longer legs and taller girls meant nothing, but higher bouncing - he was all for that!
Next was Sawyer, my little independent man who prefers to play by himself and usually doesn't even bother to acknowledge that other people exist. He was happily moving between his two or three favorite areas, oblivious to all others except Mommy (who was sometimes required to help him enjoy one of his favorites, the swings). He went from the see-saw to the swings to the smaller slides. And then he noticed another little boy, or rather noticed what the little boy's mother had produced for the little boy - Apple Jacks. My shy, anti-social little man made a beeline straight for this woman and little boy and proceeded to begin sticking his hand into their container of dry cereal. The woman smiled and laughed, generously offering to share. My son couldn't have cared less, he had a one track mind. He put both hands in, digging out fistfuls and stuffing them into his mouth and going back for more. I quietly warned the mother he would absolutely eat them all, because she kept offering the container back over to him. They finally moved on to watch the soccer practice in the nearby field, but Sawyer kept a close eye on them and kept trying to sneak their way again. Food, apparently, trumps social issues.
And then there was my little man, still tired from his afternoon nap. He had to be persuaded to even leave the truck, but quickly found things to interest him. He's my climber, and had fun scaring me and Grammy as he boldly climbed up things that were probably meant for older and larger kids. He really liked the tall, winding slide on the bigger play set, and did remarkably well. Until he saw the soccer balls in the field. They were just sitting there, off to the side of practice, begging to be used. They were about forty yards away, and he took off running. "Ball!" he said over his shoulder, running and pointing. Grammy caught up to him and stopped him from stealing balls off the practice field, but he wasn't happy. He kicked and screamed and kept his eyes turned toward the field for an opening the whole time we were playing. And then, as luck would have it, two kids came over with their balls after practice and set them down right beside the play area. He grabbed a bright purple one and started playing with it. The older kids were too busy playing chase to notice, and even when they did were nice enough not to mind that my two-year old had borrowed it. So he got his ball, and was content for the remainder of our time at the park.
Of course, we decided to leave when the little boy needed his ball back. Xander was not exactly happy to give it back to its rightful owner. Apparently the soccer practice field was switching teams, because the little boy was taking his ball that way, and to make matters worse, the little boy and his mother with the Apple Jacks were coming back to the playground from where they had been watching soccer practice. I was about to have two unhappy little boys on my hands. So we diverted them with talks of getting something to eat on the way home (Arby's curly fries, if you're wondering). And that, was our day at the park!
