Tons of fun at concerts at the park (first time down the big slide alone)

We had a huge thunderstorm during the night and at about 3am there was some incredibly loud thunder. I laid awake wondering if J would call out for me and sure enough, I heard him when he did. This is becoming a pattern now that he wakes up during thunderstorms. He only needed a little time of comfort, holding him and rocking in the chair. The thunder died down so I told J there was only "baby thunder" and asked if he was okay and he said yes real quietly so I gently put him back to bed. I got up later than I expected as my little boy alarm clock slept a little past 8. We had to hustle to be ready for our play date at 9:30. We went to my friend Heather's who was hosting Joan and I. When we first got there, J wanted to sit on my lap for a while. Then he joined in the play. They got out books and Wren and J were "reading" sitting next to each other. It was so cute to hear them each reading aloud. I enjoyed watching J "making food". When I asked him what he was making he said "scubiddy", his word for spaghetti. Then he said muffins, cottage cheese. They had snacks outside and then played in the sandbox for a while. Pretty soon it was time to go home for lunch.

I stopped at the library on the way home and J really wanted to go inside and play so we hung out for a while and I picked up some more books. I got him started on his lunch and then Karen our babysitter came and finished up while I went to my bible study. Today we finished our study of Ecclesiastes. We had a time of open sharing about what we had learned and some of the different themes. At the end of Ecclesiastes, the writer encourages us to fear God and keep his commandments. The author breaks down FEAR with what I thought was a great way of looking at what that means.
F = Faith in his existence
E = Experiencing his grace
A = Awe and wonder at his majesty and wisdom
R = Resolve to obey him
That really speaks to me. So today was my last day of "study" at this group and next week we have a pot luck. That will be my final time as I'm going to join the women's bible study "Encounter" at our church. It'll be a good opportunity to meet with women at all different ages and stages which was part of my prayer as I was thinking of moving on from my study. I love my current group, but they are all pretty much the same age and stage, grandmothers. I will stay connected since they have so much wisdom and love, but sense it's time to move to the Encounter group.

When I got back, Karen said he was so hungry wanting everything he saw in the fridge but she waited for me. He was super hungry so I gave him a "second lunch" to tide him over and then he went down for his nap. He usually goes down without protest but today he really didn't want to nap and said "mommy, I want a time out downstairs". I think he was hoping to hang out quietly downstairs for a while instead of a nap. No go.

He woke up and we got ready for meeting Eileen and family at Verona's Concerts at the Park. Our friend Carolina told us about it, she would be doing face painting for the kids. On the way, J was super cranky/whiny and anything that wasn't what he wanted to happen would bring crying. Once we got there we met up with Eileen and after he had food he changed completely. He started a game of peek-a-boo with Jackson by peeking in the window from behind his stroller and giggling and running away as he'd turn around. He kept asking me to follow him but I was staying put so finally he just walks off and I'm watching him get further and further away. Turns out he was heading straight for the park so I joined him and we played for a while. He totally surprised me by going down the slide all by himself on the tall enclosed slide. He was so excited and proud of himself that he kept going up and down a bunch of times and he'd say "Here I come!" and telling complete strangers who would listen "I'm going down the slide". I notice he's been narrating a lot lately. Like when he cries now he's saying "I'm crying mommy" and then he was coughing in the car and says "I'm coughing mommy" and when he dances he loves to say "I'm dancing". He just really loves sharing his excitement. Later he caught up with friend Steffano and the two of them walked all over the park. I kept my eye glued to them and Steffano was like big brother putting his arm around him and guiding him and staying close to him. I really enjoyed our "adult time" as L talked with Chris and I talked with Eileen. We connected with our mutual friend Carolina and ended up being some of the last to leave the park. We liked this so much more than Concerts on the Square downtown. We had ample parking, much less crowded, park equipment for the kids and it was such a nice night. We'll probably go next week too.