Arlington Parks and Rec

As Finley continues to feel more like himself post-ear infection/conjunctivitis, we have been venturing out into the wide world of Arlington as spring slowly comes our way. Over the weekend, we walked to Robbins park (20 min walk) and it was so much fun to see Finley running around there since last time he was there, the swings were the only thing suited to his age.

He went up into the toddler structure with encouragement from Dan and had fun running across the bridge to the slide. We're still working on getting Finley to SIT DOWN before going down the slide or off a step and at times, we think he's getting it...Later, we wandered over to the wooden car where Dan and Finley hopped into the front seat.

Can you see that beautiful blue sky in the background?? Amazing!

Today, after checking in at the doctor to find out that Finley's ear infection has cleared but there's still some fluid in there, we tried out another Arlington playground. Magnolia Park is on the other side of Arlington from us and right next to the fields where Dan and I have played countless summer league frisbee games. This playground has lots of stuff for kids Finley's size, so I knew he'd have fun. There is a big structure and toddler one, lots of swings, sand toys, old play kitchens, trucks and bikes, and a basketball court. However, I never imagined how easily Finley would take off and find his own fun!

Finley found out fairly quickly that pushing things in sand can be pretty tricky, but thankfully he found something else more fitting to play with. An "outdoor spoon" aka a shovel!

I tried to show him how to shovel up the sand, but he wasn't too interested until he realized that he could try and eat some of the sand. Oops. He picked up a piece of microscopic gravel and popped it into his mouth. I nearly dropped the camera and then stuck my finger into his mouth to retrieve it. Success! From then on, I said "yuck" about a dozen times before he figured out that he shouldn't eat sand. Finley, the shovel, and the soon-to-be-discovered bucket were inseparable for most of our time at the playground.

(the above is my favorite shot from the day!)

He made some "soup" for me and even offered me a bite (which I pretended to eat and enjoy).

The trio went up the structure and the fun continued.

They even went "off the reservation" for a while, where did this little trailblazer come from?

He wandered back and after a few trips down the slide, we found yet another fun place to play.

We ended our visit with some vehicular fun. Finley LOVES to push things around--things with wheels and things without. Lucky for him, there were plenty of things with wheels to test out.

Finley showed some signs of toddler-frustration when the vehicles would go off the sidewalk and refuse to be pushed any farther (i.e. tantrum-esque pouting), but hopefully he'll realize that learning to steer will be beneficial in the near future!

It was tough to leave, but we took a little walk around the neighborhood before getting in the car. Finley had fun on the sidewalks and touching some parked cars we passed, though it was hard to reason with him about not going onto people's lawns and up their front steps.

I know there are a TON of pictures in today's post, but getting to be outside in the sunshine and watching Finley be his adorable, happy self was such a lovely (and much needed) experience. I had to share!