A farewell to summer - ode to splash pads

Who am I kidding?  It's September in Florida, which means there's still a few weeks of summer left.  However, the highs have dropped out of the 90's into the upper 80's a bit early this year, so I'm seeing a glimmer of fall.

While I'm thrilled to be able to take Li'l Girlie to parks and not be drenched in sweat within 5 minutes, there's been a lot about this summer that we'll miss.  For one, splash pads.  When Li'l Girlie's into them, it's pretty much guaranteed running around and getting worn out for her, and some good time catching up with friends for me.  A little mother/daughter pretend tea time with her plastic tea set gets thrown in too.  Everybody wins!  Our fave splash pad (shown above) is really close to home, FREE and has really entertaining water features.  I know not every area has this style of fountain pad, and we partook of some of the paid entry ones that had bigger water features as well.  Lots of inexpensive fun.

To me, here's what makes a great splash pad:

• Varied water features or water patterns that has at least one fountain kids can use to fill up buckets.  That's truly half the fun for most kids.
• Shade.  'Nuff said.
• Inexpensive or free admission.  
• One that's not overrun with day camp attendees.  Not that I'm against day camps or day camps taking their campers to splash pads....all I'm saying is that the days they're there, all other children pretty much get run over.  

Added bonus for moms with small children who run away a lot...fenced in.  Li'l Girlie's never really been a runner, but containment was great for when we had playdates with kids who were.

Splash pads, we will miss you.  Hope we get to visit a couple more times before the weather turns.  See you next summer!

The 5 best toys of all time

The vast majority of the time I do the toy reviews on this site.  I really enjoy reviewing toys, and Li'l Girlie enjoys playing with them, so that works out well for us.  This time, though, I've gotta hand it to Geek Dad on Wired.  He's written a wonderful compilation of the 5 best toys of all time;  I couldn't have done it better.

Not many toys can come close to the amount of imagination these toys can inspire, and most are readily available in wide areas of the world.  Whatever culture or economic group you are in, it's highly likely that your kid will play with one of these toys whenever the opportunity arises.  (Right now, my daughter is really into toy #1 and toy #5)  That's her in the bike helmet -- it's like her security blanket, except it's a helmet. 

As an added bonus, each of the top 5 is relatively inexpensive and/or can be obtained for free.  That's my favorite price. 

Which of the top 5 toys does your child play with?  Were there any surprises about which ones made the cut?

Bike!

Yes, after all my talking about the Strider Running Bike, we finally got one for Li'l Girlie.  Her Grammy and Grandpa gave her one as an early Christmas gift, and boy has she taken to it.  She knew what it was immediately, signed 'bike', did a little happy dance and threw her leg over it.

The folks at Strider say that most kids walk with the bike between their legs first, then gradually learn to trust the seat and their balance and start zooming from there.  That's pretty much the pattern we've seen with Li'l Girlie.  She's just starting to coast for a second, so we can see the real speed coming just around the corner.

We've been extremely pleased (as has Li'l Girlie) with the Strider so far.  She's learning balance that most kids don't learn for another couple of years, and she's so confident riding her bike.  She'll never use training wheels (the bane of my learning to ride a bike experience), and will transition straight to a regular bike once she gets big enough.

The bike's adjustable enough to fit a child as young as 18 months to your average 5 year old, and as an added bonus, it's a whole lot cheaper than the other leading pedal-free bike brand.

Here's Li'l Girlie in action. Look at her go!

4th of July Festivals

Where I grew up, 4th of July parades complete with floats, bands, horses and the Shriners riding around on go-carts were the thing to do. Lots of stuff to keep young kids' attention, but also lots of loud noises to startle them. Even as a 4th or 5th grader, the fire engine sirens were a bit too much for me but all the candy the parade people threw to us on the sidelines was way worth it.

Here around my new 'hometown' in central Florida, I've found a new fun pasttime...a festival a town park. All the stroller brigade was out in full force to listen to a great choir sing patriotic songs, stroll along Park Avenue to take advantage of the AC pumping out through the open shop doors, and to see all the red-white-and-blue clad dogs, carriage horses, people and buildings. Lots of eye candy for a toddler and festival ambiance for parents. Without the carnival rides, this festival was just the right speed for a young family. Plus, it was FREE. :)

While not technically part of the festival, splashing in the fountain was an extra bonus for Samantha. She got soaked and then dirty from sitting on a bare spot on the ground, but it was worth it.

Happy 4th, y'all!

How are you celebrating Independence day with your child(ren)?