Daddy checking in. Elora's little brother Archer was born this month, so I took five weeks off to bond with the little guy. But, let's be honest, infants sleep like 20 hours a day, and most of the remaining few hours is spent feeding with Mommy. So, I took the opportunity for some quality adventure time with Elora!
Our first adventure was ballet class. Admittedly, she spent the entire class in my lap. Maybe she doesn't want to admit to Daddy that she likes to dance? Mommy insists that she has fun whenever I'm not watching. Sure Mommy. ;)
Sometimes the simplest adventures are best. We spent a lot of time over the past month at the playground across the street; it's hard to beat a five minute walk when the outside beckons toddler spirit. Plus, giant trees to the West keep it cool and shady after 5pm!
... or, if the summer heat is just too much, the tot lot at Alderwood Mall offers plenty of free playtime for Elora, and cool air conditioning for Dad. A strange phenomenon manifested here - the older girls all want to adopt Elora! On multiple occasions she'd spontaneously collect an escort to help her play and protect her from energetic older boys. In one case, she got a whole pack running her around! Now, any kids she sees are in public are "friends" that she makes a point to introduce herself too. Cute overload.
One of our first adventures after Archer was born was Wiggle Works in Bellevue. To further bribe clarify to Elora that Daddy time is great, there may have been some Cold Stone afterwards.
Woodland Park Zoo was a great adventure, and Grandma got to come along too! We missed elephant feeding, but got to feed the giraffes instead. Plus the petting zoo!
Imagine Children's Museum in Everett.
Finally, I braved Seattle (and Mercer... if you live in the city, you know what I mean) to take her to the Pacific Science Center. Admittedly she's still a bit young for it; most of the exhibits are just enticing enough to attract her yet too complicated for her to use. Still, robotic dinosaurs. And sandwiches shaped like spiders next door at the armory; she mostly just devoured the edamame, which is good because her sandwich was way too delicious for a toddler meal.
As Archer got a few days experience under his belt, the family outings began. Remlinger Farms included toddler-friendly rides, and Elora's first miniature horse ride!
Elevated Sportz, while nominally a trampoline arena, has an incredible four-story play structure. Thankfully just barely big enough for Daddy to crawl through with a camera.
To wrap up our month of adventuring, the family trip to the fair.
There were plenty of other adventures that made it into the month, but didn't quite make it on camera. Understandably no pictures from our swimming trips, but we've been to the play-beach swim at Lynnwood Rec Center, the open swim at the Mountlake Terrace Rec Center (not quite as fancy as Lynnwood, but not nearly as crowded), and a few family outings to Martha Lake. Also, Playdate Cafe; not sure where the pictures went, but non-stop fun!
It's been an exciting month, and hopefully one that's remembered for years to come. On Monday, I'm back at work, and regular working life resumes. Still, great adventures were had, and just maybe I'll reserve a vacation day or two every now and then to add a few new daddy-daughter adventures to the list.
P.S. In case you think Dads can only play man-to-man, witness the play-date skills. Three kids, sitting quietly and eating food I cooked them. Zone defense FTW!
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