It appears we are starting our playground season. Our Saturday was simply lovely and we enjoyed some play at the neighborhood playground. I think my favorite part of the day was just watching the girls as they worked out solutions and explored.

While Emily is our cautious one, she was off on her own exploring and enjoying the equipment on her own. She enjoyed having us nearby, but was happy playing on her own or finding other kids to play with. Julia hung with her Mommy, but also escaped when she could. I was able to appreciate how much Emily has gained in ability and interest as she played on the equipment. She didn’t have to be coaxed down the big slides, she didn’t need warning at high points, she didn’t need suggestions on what to do next, and she knew how to play and interact with all the equipment.

Julia enjoyed swinging, but freedom the most. I let her walk and choose her own direction. I had to have Emily physically restrain her at the top of the slides or she would have gone without me to catch her at the bottom. After she had been down a slide once I was able to just wait for her by the slide. Julia loves to slide. There just were a lot of slides to choose from. She will go down on her bottom if I help her and if she could get away with it she will take the slide on her tummy. She mastered the stairs up onto the equipment and moving along the bridges and paths. On one arched walkway she figured out that she could crawl across it because the incline and decline was a little uneasy for her.

Julia’s confidence is so much stronger then Emily’s. But then this comparison is not fair. Julia has watched Emily do everything and figures that if Emily can do it that she can too. This makes me want to sing the line from a song, “Anything you can do, I can do better.” I wonder if I won’t be singing this song for a long time.

Our winter has been pretty cold this year and our lives have been a little busier than usual so the opportunity to get out and play has been hampered. We have made several trips to local restaurant playgrounds to take advantage of the double benefit of food and play. In general, Emily is shy and slow to try new things that require effort and risk. Once inside a playground area Emily wants to play with all the kids and boss them around. She still is slow to try new things and doesn’t always play in the equipment, but she enjoys being loud and interacting with others. Julia is also shy, but pretty daring when given an idea of the possibilities.

Today, we stopped at a playground and got some energy out. Emily loved playing with two older girls (ages 6 and 8). They were only able to coax her once to the high portions of the playground, but she was very good at getting them to play on a lower slide with her. The girls were really taken with Julia. We got Julia to crawl up the three platforms to the lower slide. Once she had experienced it once I couldn’t keep her off of the equipment. It was really funny to watch this toddler crawl up the platforms and peer into the slide tunnel with such joy. I would grab her at the top (good thing I’m tall and could stretch the whole tunnel) to help her sit down to slide. She didn’t care what direction she came down the slide as long as she was coming. If I can guess what the future holds I’m willing to guess that Julia is going to be coaxing Emily into doing risky things in just a little while.