Big picture dump

It's been some time since our last update... With Redmond's annual national TSA competition taking him away for about a week, and the mad rush before the trip to pull everything together with his kids, it's just been too busy around the house to take many pictures or to update the blog... So, I have a pretty massive picture dump today. Later this week, I have some pretty cute videos of Sadie to upload, so check back!

On the recommendation of a friend, I ventured to the wilds of suburban Cary to a children's play area called Planet Child. Not quite a children's museum, but with a predominance of toddler-oriented play stations, Planet Child has enough to keep Sadie busy, but is small in scale to the degree that I don't worry about losing my little F-5 tornado. She tends to run at 60 mph in Marbles, and occasionally leaves us in the dust. Planet Child is Sadie's new favorite place to go, and makes a great substitute for a park or playground on a rainy day. She often wakes up in the morning and queries, "We go to Child?".

Redmond and I took Sadie to Planet Child right before he left for TSA in Orlando, and then I visited again with my friend Anne and her two kids. Here are some pictures...

The love that cannot be named... OK- I'll name it- it's penguin love...



Playing rock star....


After Sadie finishes playing "guitar" and obsessing over the electric trains, she usually makes a beeline to the pirate ship....


Ahoy, matey!

Sadie's entering the stage where she wants to dress in costumes all the time... I really need to make and collect some costumes to keep at home... Currently, she wraps a blanket around her shoulders and announces that she's a super villain looking for the key to the world... I then have to chase her around, capture her, and tickle her...

Here, she's pretending to be a car...


In a rowboat with Max...

Here's she's going for the Johnny Depp pirate look....

Just your average, ordinary, lion-riding pirate...

Once again with the guitar...

She's waiting for me to swing her around in the bucket...

While Redmond was away, we had the perfect storm of events... Mom was also away touring Ireland with her sister, my aunt Sylvia. And Sadie's preschool was closed for the week. So, in order to ensure that I wasn't stranded in the wilds of Western Orange County all by myself for a week, Dad graciously came down to help.... This time, he and Sadie really bonded. Here, we have taken Sadie to the "ice cream store", but she actually was indifferent to the ice cream. She pretty much goes to play on that tiny little haystack....

Dad is trying to pique Sadie's interest in her ice cream cup, but she's far more engrossed with scaling the haystack...




Clutching the butterfly Dad gave her...






We usually attend the Eno River Festival every year, and this year was no different, though the stormy weather kept us away until Sunday. Unlike most years, the temperature only reached the high 80's. I have memories of watching live bands in 100+ degree weather, so I was thrilled to be relatively comfortable.

Sadie was wildly enthusiastic about the bus ride to the festival from the parking lot.

Crossing the river on a bridge...

The old mill on the Eno River...

Some of the crafts for sale...


Unfortunately, the previous days of rain had the river engorged and running crazy fast, so the kayak trips were not appropriate for small children. We mollified Sadie by allowing her to kayak in grass...

And she realizes that kayaking in grass is somewhat lame...


Splashing...

Brave folks swimming in the engorged river... We stood in tantrum alley, as Sadie and a bazillion other toddlers begged to swim in the river...