This weekend we didn’t have any particular plans, so we ended up going to a lot of parks with Griff. Cornwallis Road Park off 15-501 is now one of our favorites; it’s conveniently right on the way to South Square and No Hope Commons/Patterson Place, and we feel less guilty about dragging Griff on errands if he’s had some time to run around outside first.

We discovered a great toy store this weekend in Patterson Place: Learning Express. We stopped by to see if we could find something fun for Griff to either ride on or push around outside, and he promptly attached himself to a Kickboard mini-scooter and rode it around the store until we left (under violent protest from Griff). The staff were very patient with us and didn’t even visibly roll their eyes as Griff repeatedly rode the floor model scooter through the cash register area and nearly took out several displays around the store. Sean and I were both too busy keeping Griff from destroying the place to get a good look at the merchandise, but the selection seemed to be fantastic for a wide range of ages.

Griff’s a bit under the recommended age for the scooter, but he’s the right size to use it, he absolutely loves it, and we think he’ll be able to use it for a few years at least. The three wheels make it very stable. The only times he’s fallen off are when he’s tried to ride it into the grass.

He doesn’t really have the scooting motion down, but he does seem to understand that he needs to ride with one foot and kick with the other. He doesn’t quite have the coordination to put the motions together yet, but he’ll get there. He’s fine with standing on it and letting mom or dad push him along. We managed to do the entire paved circuit at Little River Park with him riding on the scooter or scoot-walking!

I love how at the end of this video, he’s like, “Screw this, I’m going in the opposite direction!”

Griff also discovered alternate ways to use the scooter!

Griff took time out from his busy scooting schedule to collect fallen branches and examine the water spigots at the picnic shelters. He is totally fascinated by the water spigots at every park we go to. No idea what the attraction is.

Hey Dad, can you hold these for me???

I’m a little disappointed in my progress on Griff’s sweater. I’m about halfway done with the yoke, but I had been hoping to be a little farther along by now. However, I’m loving the way the colors are all working together, and it seems like it may be a bit big, so at least he won’t outgrow it before I’m finished knitting it. Probably.

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