this week's adventures

This week we went to the indoor play park twice. Jonah enjoyed it very much. He especially liked the oversized plastic wagon which has a large long handle, little doors that open and close, and benches that fit two children inside it. Jonah got to ride in the wagon with a stranger kid about his age. I wheeled them around the gym cautiously. It was quite a funny sight. The two kids sat on the benches in the same exact pose, facing each other and staring at each other silently. I always imagine adults doing the same thing kids are, which makes me laugh, but often times I'm the only adult laughing for some reason. Come on folks, aren't kids funny?

The first time we went, as you may remember, Jonah got sucked halfway under a foot-powered mini car. The second time at the gym, at one point I saw two legs sticking out from under the front of one of those cars. Scary picture. We're talking legs under a car - something that shouldn't happen. The lady with the little boy pulled him right out from underneath the toy car. He was fine. It made me laugh and deep inside I was glad I wasn't the only mom who let such a thing happen to her child.

Other than indoor playtime, we also went to my favorite place, the rhododendron garden, with Jonah's friend Finn and his mom. That was great fun until a gang of geese and ducks started chasing us all over the park demanding food. Toddlers and big mean geese with humongous necks and beaks and no shame... not a good combination. I made the mistake of bringing some bird food and feeding the poultry at the park. The birds got a little too excited, and two biggest and boldest geese strutted their stuff right up to us, flapping their wings and screaming to show who's boss. A little duck joined them and the three menaces started following us around the park, shrieking and displaying their grandeur, so close to us that we couldn't put the children down on the ground until we lost the birds a few turns later. That's what I call a nice day at the park. I'll think twice about bringing bird food next time.

At story time, Jonah met another Jonah. To my dismay, I was told that there was a third Jonah that frequented the very same library. Oh, oh, I thought. What if suddenly the name Jonah becomes one of the most popular ones and I start hearing: "Jonah! Jonah!" on every corner. Hopefully there won't be a new pop superstar named Jonah in the next few years. That could spur all kinds of ideas among the populace.

We finished off the week with a nice hike in the woods near the Columbia Gorge. The forest was beaming today. I say that because finally after months of dry weather, it has rained a few times recently and the forest was moist and more alive than I have seen it since the spring. Jonah got to walk around in the woods. He loved it and was impressive at navigating among the stumps, branches, and roots. The day was perfect - upper seventies, clear skies, sunshine.

So much for this week's report.