At the Park

Saturday, I took Kaitlyn to the park to play. There's this really weird phenomenon that happens when a dad takes a small child out in public--I get odd, suspicious looks like it's my court-appointed custody weekend. I don't know how to describe it.

We went to the donut shop and got some health food, then stopped to get coffee and juice, and headed to the park. There is a little lake with a path around it, so we walked around. This one guy passed me -not jogging, but more like running as though he was being chased by the cops--and he was pushing a baby stroller with a jostled infant inside. Crazy.

There were tons of ducks in the pond, and Kaitlyn has such a sweet personality. She carefully watched them swimming around and then turned around and told me "I love them so much, Daddy! I want to kiss them in the water!"

Then we went to the playground to swing and slide. One mom was there with her little boy who was about the same age as Kaitlyn. She asked me if it was "daddy weekend".

As we talked, I mentioned that Kaitlyn likes a show called "Go, Diego, Go", which is a cartoon about animals and the rainforest.

The mom proudly folder her arms and said "Jacob watches Baby Einstein"--and she literally gave me a triumphant look over the top of her glasses.

Here were possible responses that came to mind:

1) You realize that the actual Einstein has nothing to do with that show, right?

2) Hey, I think Einstein Junior over there just pooped his pants.

3) Huh? I heard that was determined to retard development--You know, Einstein didn't talk 'til he was four years old!

4) "Kaitlyn, let Baby Einstein up for air"

(some poor physicist is going to google this post up and be disappointed).

It's funny how new parents get defensive/proud/competitive of their kid. We had one neighbor who was obsessed with comparing childhood milestones with us between their son and Ryan, almost on a weekly basis.

We moved on from the park to the library where we enjoyed reading Curious George Feeds the Animals and other stories. Then, Kaitlyn tried running through the Children's section screaming, so it was time to go.

It was a great day.