Today was a glorious day! I woke up in the BEST mood and the weather couldn't have been more perfect: 74 degrees and sunny. I got the girls dressed and packed the diaper bag with all the necessities. I looked at my big camera and debated whether or not to take it. It was quite the dilemna. I knew I could get some great shots, but I had more important things to focus on: quality time with my beautiful girls. Weekends are now precious and I was determined to have a wonderful day with my girls outside and I didn't want to be distracted by my quirky obsession with always trying to capture every moment on film (guess I can't say film anymore, so I'll say "memory card"!). Anyway, I opted to leave the camera home and although it was slightly painful to do that, I was also happy that I got to be completely involved with them all day, rather than be kind of an observer behind a camera.
I took them to the Wyckoff nature center where we got to see various wildlife. One of the small exhibits had 3 peacocks, one of which was displaying his beautiful feathers. I told Reagan that it was the boy peacock and the girl peacock was the one without the colorful feathers. She looked at me as if I were crazy! Then she argued with me about it, absolutely sure that the female peacock HAD to have the beautiful feathers! It wasn't until we got home and John confirmed this that she finally accepted the truth.
After the wildlife, we picked up some food for a picnic at the park. We went to a wonderful park behind the fire station in Wyckoff, sat at a picnic table and had our first picnic together! It was cute to see both girls sitting on either side of me on the bench - I couldn't believe Avery was big enough to do this! We ate our lunch, then it was playtime on the playground. This was the first time Avery had ever been able to maneuver around a playground (last year she was just a baby and only went in the swings). She was quickly a pro at climbing up the stairs and going down the slide all by herself. She wanted to follow Reagan on just about everything and insisted that I help her do everything her big sister did.
It was such a great day and I really enjoyed every moment with my girls. I guess that's the good thing about working: when I'm with my kids, I don't take any minute for granted.
When we got home, I was able to transfer a very sleepy Avery from the car to her crib. Then Reagan and I joined John outside in the driveway while he finished cleaning out the garage and then the cars (he stayed home to start on some projects). It truly was the perfect day! Now it's time to go get ready for my night out with my girlfriends ... I'll make sure I take my camera for that one :)
11 months ago
