One thing that I really do miss about our old neighborhood is all the parks. We lived within walking distance of several playgrounds and lots of big grassy fields/soccer fields/baseball fields, etc…Our walks to the park and letting Jacob run around with a ball on the fields, was such a big part of our daily life. There was one playground that was Jacob’s favorite, I actually did a post on it. We called it the Blue Park since the ground was a blue padded/squishy rubber, and most of the equipment was blue. We spent a lot of time there. On our last day when we moved out of our condo, we stopped at the Blue Park to let Jacob play one last time, before heading to the new house. Every once in a while when I say we are going to the park, Jacob asks if we are going to the Blue Park, and still talks about it often.
In March, Jacob had a dentist appointment, and his dentist office is in our old neighborhood. When we were finished with the appointment, I told Jacob I had a surprise for him, and I started driving towards the Blue Park. When we got closer and closer, I could see on Jacob’s face that he recognized the neighborhood and from his excitement I knew that he knew where we were going.
It tugs on my heartstrings to see how much he has grown since we were here last (almost a year ago).
He can tackle things with ease now that were a little too difficult for him before.
And it was fun seeing him show Dylan around his favorite park.
And it is fun to see Dylan doing the things that Jacob did when he was a baby.
Dylan really liked the swings at this park
Jacob did swing for a little bit
But he would much rather climb
Such a big boy now!
It is these moments, that I am SO thankful for this blog, these pictures and memories. When I start to feel overwhelmed with how far behind I am, or the pictures and stories that never made it on here, I remember the trips down memory lane when I look back on an old post and the happiness/sense of accomplishment I feel when I get a new post done. It also shows me how much I have grown as a mother. When I read back on the first post I did about this park and I came to this sentence, “This particular day was a Saturday morning, there is no way I could take pictures and chase Jacob around the park by myself, so we had daddy with us.” I had to laugh. Now that I am used to the juggling act that two kids entails, bringing my camera along at the park (by myself) didn’t seem like a big deal. At times, it was a bit challenging and I always had to make sure Dylan was in a safe place when I was focusing on Jacob, but it is possible. To me, remembering old memories and creating new ones is more precious than anything, and I am so blessed to have my little family to do that with.