Slow down, please.

We spent yesterday afternoon grocery shopping, running errands and eating fried food. We wanted to burn off all of the french fries we scarfed down, so we stopped at a park on the way home. This park is a little different than the one we usually go to. Instead of swings, there's a pirate ship and instead of a slide, there's little spongey mountains for kids to climb.

Lilly loves the spongey mountain area. (Spongey mountains? Does that even make sense? I have no idea what to call these things. They're like hills... made of foamy squishy stuff. Whatever. You get the idea.)

This girl loves being outside. She was a little nervous, but she couldn't wait to tackle the squishy stuff. Daddy helped her up and down a few of the mountains.

 

Just as she started to get the hang of things, some big kids showed up and started showing off their skills. Lilly was so impressed. They were able to climb the mountains without holding anyone's hand! She watched them in total awe... and every few minutes she would inch closer to them, trying to join their group.

 

I don't think they really even noticed her trying to tag along. Well, I guess they did. I mean, they didn't run her over as they jumped back and forth between mountains, so, I guess they knew she was there. Just as she would start making her way up a little hill, they would leap off to the next. She would crawl back down and head their way. My poor baby. They left after a while and Lilly watched them race away on their big kid scooters. I think she was a little sad to see them go.

She had the playzone all to herself and decided to give it another go. I probably had a million heart attacks watching her do it, but she climbed all of the mountains by herself. She tackled even the highest peak! Yeah, it was only like 4 feet tall, but it was still scary... for me, anyway.

 

 

 

She was so proud of herself and she had to let out a victory yell at the top of the "puhple" mountain. I handed the camera off to Dad and decided to celebrate with my big girl.

 

She's such a brave little bug and she's growing up so fast. When I saw her watching the big kids zoom by, I wanted to reach out and tell her not to be in such a rush. "Stop growing so fast, baby," I wanted to say. I wanted to tell her that she could hold my hand anytime and I would help her climb all of the mountains. Those big kids may not have wanted a two-year-old tagging along, but me? I love the company.

But then suddenly, there she was... climbing the mountains all on her own. I felt like she needed me for one less thing. Yeah, it sounds silly, I know... but it's true. My baby is growing up so fast. I wish there was some way I could slow things down a bit... but I guess that isn't possible. I'll just have to squeeze in all the hugs I can get and soak up every minute that we have before she thinks I'm too lame to hang out with. (Who am I kidding? That will never happen. I'm like the coolest mom ever.)

 

Oh, and she did manage to give me one more heart attack just before we hit the road. She insisted on giving this frog a big smooch goodbye. I tried to explain that this thing was probably covered in poop and germs and dead bugs, but she wasn't having it. This little guy needed some Lilly lovin'. My precious (and disgusting) baby girl... she's such a sweetheart.