Last night's memorable outing was to a nearby playground. Jace had been home all day and was more than ready for some active, outdoor time. He went to get his shoes when we said we were going.
At the park he was a one-man welcome wagon. Each new group that arrived at the playground was greeted by Jace, offering them a handful of rocks.
He dug in the rocks with two preschool age boys that kept calling him "the baby".
He watched attentively as an 18 month old girl, no bigger than Jace, climbed a spiral ladder. Joel and I shot each other nervous looks as the tiny girl scampered to the top of the playground. Her Mom didn't seem surprised or worried at all. Several minutes later, a 2 year old boy began climbing the same ladder. Jace moved closer to watch. When the boy was more than half way up, his Grandpa decided it was to dangerous and pulled the boy off. There was a struggle because the boy didn't want to get down. Poor Jace, who had been quietly observing at the base of the ladder, took the toddler's shoe right in his forehead. The only adult on the playground who seemed not to notice this contact was the Grandpa who caused it. Jace cried, mostly because he was shocked and scared, he was not hurt. Joel and I took a few minutes to calm him down and moved away from the playground to play in a nearby field until he felt better.
When he recovered he was back on the playground exploring a tunnel, climbing a hill and gathering more rocks. It was time to leave when Jace got overexcited about a giant Labradoodle tied up nearby. Jace didn't want to leave. Joel carried him to the car. He was blowing kisses to the dog over Joel's shoulder.
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