When I was only 2 years old my parents bought a house in a brand new neighborhood, and it was soon full of new families that had kids my age. There was always someone to play with and we spent most daylight hours playing games in the street, riding bikes, or getting grass stains in someone else’s yard.
Our street seems to mostly have older kids, which is fine for now since Annie isn’t exactly at the age where I would be OK with her disappearing for hours at a time. Instead, we spend lots of time in our back yard where Rigby can join us. It’s not the big expansive back yard with the lawn like we almost bought, but we like it a lot. It’s enclosed with lots of trees, and when Annie is older we’ll be able to hike up our back hill all the way to the top.
Annie and I are enjoying all the fun things we can do in the backyard. She loves following Rigby around.
Rigby loves the backyard the most of all of us. I think it’s because she gets to be in the sun without being on a leash. Dogfriend loves her freedom. And it’s funny, but Rigby is a million times more likely to stay close to Annie when we’re outside vs inside.
I’m never sure what Annie will want to do when we’re outside. There are some days when she wants to stand in front of the sliding glass door and stare at her own reflection:
Then there are other days when she’s finding tiny stones and bugs and sticks and talking to them in whispers:
Or she wants to look at flowers:
As much as I like watching her explore, I laugh when she wants to play my favorite game, “Southern California Valley Girl Gets A Tan.”
That was my favorite game in my teenaged years.
As she grows up I’m hoping she won’t mind the lack of grass in the backyard. I’ve been trying to think of all the fun things we can do back there – sidewalk chalk, riding two-wheelers, roller skating, learning how to tap dance. She’s probably going to stop wanting me to play with her…pretty much any day now:
…so I’d best enjoy it while I can, right?
Lynn from For Love or Funny says:
I’m envious that you can step outside without your coat right now… We are still bundled up on the East coast.
Angela says:
When the weather gets warm, I take my pre-k students out to the playground and allow them to water paint….like, literally, with water, on the cement! They take a cup and fill it at the drinking fountain, and then they grab a chunky sized paintbrush made especially for their hands and they paint the ground! They love it, it isn’t messy, and when they get bored they dump water and make footprints through the puddles and on to dry ground. Annie would probably love that! It’s a great fine motor skill
TonyaM says:
Sigh. The cuteness is too much. The pink Chuck Taylor’s, the chubby legs, the dress, the piggies, the FACIAL EXPRESSIONS!! That girl is a hoot! I think if she were mine, I’d be laughing all day long. And I love how the dog trails her. My “baby” is seven, and has been hounding me for a poodle. I don’t know where that came from because we have always had collies, but Rigby has me thinking that maybe a maltipoo is what we need! I think she’d realize I pulled one over on her with a full Maltese.
And I guess I’ll be TonyaM from now on. Realized there were at least three of us here the other day.
Shan says:
Sidewalk chalk…girlfriend will have a blaaast! The pics are too cute!
Rebecca says:
You have a screened in porch and a palm tree in your back yard, you wouldn’t mind if I came for a visit would you? Every winter my family and I could live in that screened in porch and I’d totally be a full time babysitter.
Heather says:
She is so beautiful! I can’t get over how much she looks like a mini-Mike with pigtails! Plus – LOVE the purple sparkly chucks!!!
Pattie says:
That’s great how much you enjoy your backyard time together. I imagine if my backyard was much nicer, we’d be in ours a lot too.
I love all the pics, but Annie’s expression in the last one kills me.
Denise says:
The glare at the end! Look out, Mama! So cute!
Glenda says:
Watch out!!! Annie is getting cuter by the day! The look in her eyes!! Her expressions… Gorgeous!
Kelly says:
They don’t get tired of their Momma in the backyard for quite a while. I am Mea’s favorite plaything, so long as the twin boys her age aren’t out. They are soooo cool.
Ah, to be five.
sharon says:
bubbles! set up a bubble machine and watch her, and probably Rigby, go crazy jealous of your warm sunshine right now. my son has insisted on playing outside the last few days because the sun is out, he doesn’t care that it’s in the low 40s, sun = outside to him.
Tami says:
She is so adorable. I have to agree she looks so much like her daddy;) I wish I had a little girl to follow around and take pictures of, but thats out tof the question since Im over the hill. Thanks for sharing your pictures of such an adorable chlid!!
Adrianne says:
Pretty sure my favorite thing about this post is the shoes. And the toddler jeans. And the messy ponytail. She’s so dang cute! How can you stand it?
Julia says:
I too gave my little ones water and a big decorators paintbrush to make pictures on the patio. They loved it. We also made up a game called “Splash the puddle” where I filled a big metal tray we had with an inch or two of water and they would splash in it wearing their wellingtons (and sometimes not much else). You are going to have so much fun. With love from the snow and ice in London : )
erin says:
They don’t get tired of playing with their mom for a long time. My daughter is 13 and still wants me to “play” — which usually means a board/card game or watching her shoot hoops. If you “play” your cards right — you’ll be her favorite playmate for years to come — Enjoy it.
Me says:
Absolutely.
I love the second picture. To me, it looks like she is saying,
“Oh Rigby! You are so funny!”
katrina @ They All Call Me Mom says:
First of all, I have kids of all ages…and they all still want me to play with them in one way or the other. The teens want me to take them shopping (hey, to them that’s playing. With MY money, of course. But still.) The preteens want me to take them to the mall, the movies, and out to eat. The elementary-age kids want me to play games with them, watch tv with them, and build tents in our living room with all the sheets and blankets in the house. And the preschoolers want me to read to them, color with them, play Barbies with them, play Match Cars with them, paint with them, play legos with them, go outside with them, etc. It’s never-ending, no matter what age they are.
Second, back yards with cement have their perks. For example, when you put up a kiddie pool in the summer, it won’t get full of “yucky” grass particles when Annie gets in and gets out 100 times. And hello? Sidewalk chalk is the BEST!!
Also, riding bikes, scooters, and roller skating in the backyard has major perks for us parents, who then don’t have to stand out front for endless hours watching the kids do these things. (I’d much rather send my kids in our safe & secure backyard where I know that they aren’t going to get hit by a car or kidnapped… so the more they can do in the backyard, the better!)
Jessica Makuh says:
I think grass is overrated. We have 1.1 acres of grass, but only a small concrete patio in the backyard and our 250 foot driveway is gravel. So, I feel like the kids can’t do anything fun at all. Sure, they can run in the grass and we play Duck, Duck, Goose, but they can’t ride bikes or rollerskate or play basketball or jumping ball. I think your backyard is great! I can’t wait until we can afford to concrete the driveway, but it will be awhile. We think it will cost like $20,000! The only real disadvantage to yours is potential boo-boos.
Lanie says:
Back yards are filled with big adventures. Does Annie ever watch Backyardigans?
P.S. I love Annie’s pink & purple shoes
Elizabeth :: Bébé Suisse says:
That was my favorite game as a teenager, and also as a twenty-something – and considering how often I played it, I’m lucky to have escaped with just a few wrinkles! Love the photos of the California weather – here in Switzerland we have clear blue skies too but coupled with the coldest temperatures in years. Brrrr.
Kayla says:
So, in the past few days I’ve been diving back into the archives and (literally) reading every post from the beginning of 2009, and I just paused a few minutes ago when Annie was eight months to come read some more recent posts and OMG HEATHER.
TIME MACHINES! THEY DO EXIST! It is WEIRD to go from Eight Month Old Annie to Running, Jumping, Talking, Toddler Two Year Old Annie. Weeeird! Wasn’t she just a baby yesterday? ):
Heather says:
I do that sometimes, too. It’s so crazy how much she’s changed!
Skye says:
I still have wonderful memories of playing in my grandparents’ yards in the summers when I was little! There is something special about playing outside and using your imagination. The backyard can become anywhere in a child’s mind. I used to have a pretend garden, kitchen, etc. It’s so fun seeing Annie explore her space!