change of plans

For the last ten days, Quincy left the house twice, once to the grocery store and once to the post office and library. He's had a nasty cold so we've been hibernating. Because of the swine flu pandemic, people are being strongly encouraged to stay home when they are sick. Besides the weather hasn't encouraged us to do otherwise, so we've been pretty happy playing cars and trains and trying to stay warm. As of yesterday, no more cough, so we were really looking forward to a playdate with my antenatal group this morning. But the hosts ended up sick. We were gutted. Q said, fighting off tears, "Ashton be there. Play cars." Sorry Buddy.

So, change of plans. I was determined to get out of the house and so was he.

We went to a big library we haven't been to before

and played at a playground along the way.

Like most kids, Q loves playgrounds. He never wants to leave. But he's not overly zealous. Nor is he especially daring. You won't find him zooming down the slide backwards or going nuts on the swings. He's the kind of kid who slides down 75% of the slide and then scoots the rest of the way. He tries most things. He runs. He climbs. He just does it with caution. He's an observer. And he notices all the little details. When he sees other kids playing with abandon, he laughs and says, "funny kids." He appreciates the craziness and once at home he mimics the things he has observed. I guess, for the most part, he just practices crazy at home!

On that note, I had to laugh when I saw these four pictures from this morning.

The ones on the left were taken while we were the only ones on the playground. He gave the bouncy bike a go, but he was content to just sit there, look around, and talk to me about the postman's bike. After a short time, he said, "All done," and I helped him off. The ones on the right were taken twenty minutes later, after he'd watched an older boy ride that thing with gusto. This time he tried to climb up himself, just as the boy had, and spent ages bouncing back and forth before climbing off all by himself when he was finished.

It's amazing how much they learn from other kids.