A Day at the Park

Walking is very serious

This weekend I took Leah to a park near our house. We have been going to parks near my sister's house, and they were at least 20 minutes away. This park is about a 5 minute drive. It has two lakes with fountains, walking trails and a toddler playground.

Leah was all smiles as soon as we got there. She loved the slides and was making her way through a tunnel bridge when a 3 year old boy showed up with his parents and infant brother. The first sign that this boy was trouble was when he started violently going after a lady bug in the tunnel. I was upset to see how aggressive he was and that Leah was seeing that.

Then, he backed out of the tunnel and came at Leah. He meant to joke around and stopped right before he got to her, but Leah burst into tears. Poor girl. I had to climb up and get her out of the tunnel and the boy was reprimanded by his mother. After that I put Leah in a swing and she forgot all about it.

I am glad to be out enjoying my daughter and summer.

Family in Town

Joe's brother Tim and his wife Sara are in town visiting. It has been great to see them & catch up. Yesterday we went over to Aunt Suzy's to see everyone. Leah got to play with her second cousins Izzy, Miles & Max. She also spent some time in the froggy pool and showed Sara how much fun it is!

Leah is starting to stand on her own for a few seconds! She will stand the longest when she doesn't realize she's doing it. And, she's discovered the stairs. Leah is already a climber!

A long update

Sorry I've been slacking a little. It seems like the last few Sundays I've been too tired, or Leah's been crabby (which makes me tired).

Two weekends ago our friends Lisa & Brandon came to visit. They bought Leah this dress. It's a little long but she'll grow into it.

Leah was 10 months old on Monday! Where has the time gone? Leah is developing so much. She throws tantrums now, especially when a popsicle is done. She is starting to say a few words now. Joe and I have been hesitant to claim that she's talking but she says up, hi, no, and baby. I know, our little girl already knows the word no.

This weekend Crissie, Steve, Katie and Anna came in. Saturday we all went to Twin Lakes in Columbia to swim. Leah wasn't too impressed but we managed to avoid the rain until lunch. Then on Sunday we went to pool again and Leah enjoyed that a little more.

The Price of Children

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

$8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?

Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Clause.

You have an excuse to:
keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off a bike, removing a splinter, filling a wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the:
first step, first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits. So one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal!