Winter in the park

We returned home from our winter wonderland to some sublimely beautiful 70 degree weather. Although the new year has delivered a healthy to-do list, lately I can't shake the feeling that we are on borrowed time: with this crazy beautiful weather, with our sweet babies who are growing up too fast. So instead, I'm finding any reason to soak it all in at the park. Not all parks are created equal, and I just rediscovered a favorite park from my babysitting days (Ramsey Park in Rosedale) that I love all over again. It's spacious. Lots of big trees. Toddler and big kid playscapes. Four bucket swings. Eliza loves her some bucket swings.

It even has the same high, rickety old metal slide, which I feel certain has to be outlawed at so many over-kidproofed parks these days. Which is kind of why I love it. Anyway, a few impromptu afternoon park playdates with our friends Blake and Piercy seem to be hitting the spot lately:

I'm pretty sure E. and Piercy call each other beforehand to make sure they are on the same page about their look (nibble-worthy sweetcheeks, blonde, blue-eyed and baldy - though it's clear from the above shot who has the edge in the hair department). Seriously, from some angles they kind of look like sisters. Maybe that's why they attack each other as if looking in a mirror.

(Katy, Meghan and I spend the majority of park playdates keeping the babies from mauling each other & eating leaves.)

The day after we returned home from Christmas, Eliza and I met up with Nicholas' cousin Denver, his wife Chrissy and their two daughters. Their visit to Austin overlapped just slightly with our return home, and since they are from upstate New York (and due to the post-Christmas bomb that had hit our house), I suggested the park. Their eldest daughter Anna was our super precious flower girl almost five years ago, and Maire was just a shy little baby then. They have both grown into such smart, well-spoken, lovely little girls. I hope Eliza was taking notes.

It was a great visit with them...and the random, unsupervised toddler who wandered over onto our blanket and proceeded to steal all of Eliza's toys.

At first it was kind of funny, this kid we didn't know in the pictures of Eliza and her cousins.

But after about 10 minutes of this poor child playing on our quilt with no apparent guardian, I actively started trying to find the mother. A woman on a bench said it was her friend's babysitting charge, and pointed off into the distance...to the woman walking away to the bathrooms, clear on the other side of the park. Are you serious?! The friend came and picked her up, like it was a big hassle that we didn't want to supervise her. Appalling.

By the way, Denver is an incredibly talented photographer. Chrissy is a yoga teacher and all-around fab mama. I wish they lived here as I'd take full advantage of our future babysitters, photography tips and yoga/fab mama pointers! Such a fun visit. Come back and visit soon, Rochester Millers!