For those of you who are local, you know it was an absolutely gorgeous weekend. It was peak color to the day in my yard, with temperatures in the 80s. We took advantage of it.
Saturday morning Elias edulged in one of his favorite things: watching videos of himself. He just cracks himself up! I finally decided, rather late, to bring Elias to the Fitchburg firestation open house then proceed on to some driving around to appreciate the scenery and season. I threw in some snacks and off we went.
The open house was a much bigger deal than I thought. They had lots of vehicles to climb around in, "Sparky" the mascot, balloons, food, hands-on firehose demos, and firetruck rides. The problem was, I unwittedly had WAY overdressed Elias for the hot weather, and it was naptime, so he was unusually cranky. I tried to leave after making the rounds, but he insisted on riding the firetruck, then proceeded to cry continuously in the long, long line (
Why, but whyyy do we have to wait?). Fortunately for everyone, we got to skip ahead after ~15min (with ~15 more to go) because we were only 2, and they needed to fill up the trucks. He loved it...then cried again when we left (
Why, wwhhyyy do we have to leave? Why can't I ride again? WHY?).
My hope was that he'd nap in the car. I found another shirt for him in his diaperbag from the day before--dirty, but at least cooler--then we hit the road. I drove maybe 4o min to Governor Dodge State Park. He mostly entertained himself, then fell asleep after ~25 min. It was indeed beautiful. He woke up also and I think enjoyed the drive. We stopped at a lake to sit and snack. He really wanted to swim, but I had no extra clothes and didn't think skinnydipping would be welcomed by the other familes there. I said he couldn't get wet, so kept edging right up to and a little bit in the water. The last straw was when he stepped back, put his head down on the wet sand between his legs, and summersaulted into the lake. Sigh. Maybe I was asking for it. Well, at least I had plenty of pull-ups.
Sunday morning as usual we went to church and grocery shopping which included granting his weekly request for a "white, square" doughnut. I made sure he napped, and in so doing blissfully fell asleep myself. Then, largely because Saturday I'd said we could play in a lake that day, we packed up again (this time with lots of extra clothes) and went to Governor Nelson State Park, nearby: a surprisingly lightly-used, beautiful park with views of the Capitol across Lake Mendota (or "Lake Minnesota" as Elias says). He had a great time on the playground (with refreshingly steep slides and no annoying rubber safety stuff on the ground) before having a great time playing in the lake. I waded in up to my waist, but he was all-out gung-ho, running in and out so that he fell & went under, practicing his backfloat, chasing ducks, and just showing lots of general exuberance. I couldn't believe we were in the lake on the 10th of October. I think my first year here it snowed on that date. He did start to get cold though, so I wrapped him in a towel and we sat on the edge of the grass with feet in the sand, being quiet, cuddling and gazing out across the lake. Then, in a clear, thoughtful voice he said simply, "It is beautiful." So true.
Saturday morning Elias edulged in one of his favorite things: watching videos of himself. He just cracks himself up! I finally decided, rather late, to bring Elias to the Fitchburg firestation open house then proceed on to some driving around to appreciate the scenery and season. I threw in some snacks and off we went. 
The open house was a much bigger deal than I thought. They had lots of vehicles to climb around in, "Sparky" the mascot, balloons, food, hands-on firehose demos, and firetruck rides. The problem was, I unwittedly had WAY overdressed Elias for the hot weather, and it was naptime, so he was unusually cranky. I tried to leave after making the rounds, but he insisted on riding the firetruck, then proceeded to cry continuously in the long, long line (Why, but whyyy do we have to wait?). Fortunately for everyone, we got to skip ahead after ~15min (with ~15 more to go) because we were only 2, and they needed to fill up the trucks. He loved it...then cried again when we left (Why, wwhhyyy do we have to leave? Why can't I ride again? WHY?).
My hope was that he'd nap in the car. I found another shirt for him in his diaperbag from the day before--dirty, but at least cooler--then we hit the road. I drove maybe 4o min to Governor Dodge State Park. He mostly entertained himself, then fell asleep after ~25 min. It was indeed beautiful. He woke up also and I think enjoyed the drive. We stopped at a lake to sit and snack. He really wanted to swim, but I had no extra clothes and didn't think skinnydipping would be welcomed by the other familes there. I said he couldn't get wet, so kept edging right up to and a little bit in the water. The last straw was when he stepped back, put his head down on the wet sand between his legs, and summersaulted into the lake. Sigh. Maybe I was asking for it. Well, at least I had plenty of pull-ups.
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