Thank you, Chicago weather gods, for changing your mind about this day! I really really appreciate the midday clearing skies. I'm thrilled that the storms were pushed off and away. I love the warm air, the feeling of full spring. All the more so since I am with Primrose today and going outside with her is always such a treat!
Of course, the morning begins with indoor routines. Parents are off to work...
Primrose needs her morning meals.
And there is a world inside for us to explore...
She is playful! Hiding to make me chortle, then laughing her head off at my guffaws.
And the timed release! We need to do that!
(I eat breakfast while she takes her morning nap.)
Afterwards, there's still time to test the John Deere tractor. She takes a serious approach to it. At first.
Then -- more peels of laughter.
Okay, little one: I think we can go out now!
But how to dress her? We're just at that borderline of cool and warm. Let's err on the side of keeping snug.
Oh, but Chicago is a week ahead with its spring presentation!
By the time we reach the playground, the sun is so warm that the jacket has to come off.
("Can I drive standing up?")
We are not the only ones enjoying a noon playtime outside. Nannies with babes and toddlers fill the place and Primrose is as interested in the antics of other kids as she is in testing the playground equipment.
Eventually, we head home for lunch, pausing just for this one photo...
(look what's blooming in Chicago! and no, she did not want to grin, pretty flowers notwithstanding!)
Lunch: by coincidence, everything in this photos is blue and yellow!
And so our play continues.
It's quite incredible to watch these three grandkids cycle through the stages of infancy, toddler-hood and little person-hood so closely together. You can't help but feel awed at the uniqueness of each child, even as we all search for those similarities to children we have ourselves raised. I suppose you could say that these young ones have foundational links to parents, to grandparents. Nature, nurture -- who can tell, but it's there. And yet it quickly morphs into something that is very distinctive. And beautiful.
("can we read this again?")
Parents come home...
Suppertime, bedtime. Routines practiced the world over. With heart, soul and gritty determination. Because, well, there's so much love for that little one! So much love...
Of course, the morning begins with indoor routines. Parents are off to work...
Primrose needs her morning meals.
And there is a world inside for us to explore...
She is playful! Hiding to make me chortle, then laughing her head off at my guffaws.
And the timed release! We need to do that!
(I eat breakfast while she takes her morning nap.)
Afterwards, there's still time to test the John Deere tractor. She takes a serious approach to it. At first.
Then -- more peels of laughter.
Okay, little one: I think we can go out now!
But how to dress her? We're just at that borderline of cool and warm. Let's err on the side of keeping snug.
Oh, but Chicago is a week ahead with its spring presentation!
By the time we reach the playground, the sun is so warm that the jacket has to come off.
("Can I drive standing up?")
We are not the only ones enjoying a noon playtime outside. Nannies with babes and toddlers fill the place and Primrose is as interested in the antics of other kids as she is in testing the playground equipment.
Eventually, we head home for lunch, pausing just for this one photo...
(look what's blooming in Chicago! and no, she did not want to grin, pretty flowers notwithstanding!)
Lunch: by coincidence, everything in this photos is blue and yellow!
And so our play continues.
It's quite incredible to watch these three grandkids cycle through the stages of infancy, toddler-hood and little person-hood so closely together. You can't help but feel awed at the uniqueness of each child, even as we all search for those similarities to children we have ourselves raised. I suppose you could say that these young ones have foundational links to parents, to grandparents. Nature, nurture -- who can tell, but it's there. And yet it quickly morphs into something that is very distinctive. And beautiful.
("can we read this again?")
Parents come home...
Suppertime, bedtime. Routines practiced the world over. With heart, soul and gritty determination. Because, well, there's so much love for that little one! So much love...
