The Park

We are blessed to live right next door to a park. When we first bought our house over six years ago, the area across the street was a neglected-looking woodsy, overgrown lot. Now it is a beautifully landscaped park with a paved trail (about 1/3 mile long) through the woods, several nice grassy areas, a covered picnic area, and some toys. The only complaint I have about the park is that there are no swings (I love swings - even as an adult!). We haven't used the park much since it was developed, other than occasionally jogging or walking around the trail and playing several games of wiffle ball in the grassy area with my nephews and my brother, but I always knew that it would come in very handy once we had kids. When Abby was born I'd originally thought she wouldn't get much use out of the park until next summer, but we have already enjoyed it several times this spring. Although she can't get around on her own yet, she really enjoys sitting in her stroller watching the neighborhood kids play on the toys. Abby also has developed a special liking for sitting with Mommy on the teeter-totter and she even got to try out the big kid's slide with Daddy.

Now before you look up the number for Child Protective Services about the pictures of Abby sitting on the tree branch, you should know that I am firmly holding her from behind, but ducked out of sight for the pictures...we couldn't resist it. =)