Gardner had his first "play date" yesterday....with his 17-month-old cousin, Arianna. They met up at the playground and duck pond near my parents' house. Arianna was running from sandbox to swing to slide, but little Gardner, of course, till relied on his mama to carry him to and fro. :0)

They had these huge, strange-shaped red swings in which parents can sit and swing while holding their children. He really seemed to enjoy that. We also went down the slide, while Mimi (my mom) and Arianna cheered us on from the end. Gardner was mainly interested in watching the other children; he took special note of these people who were smaller than adults, but bigger than he.

I sat in wonder as I realized that in no time at all I will be running after a toddler who is darting from jungle gym to jungle gym. I squeezed him tighter in my arms, pulling his little hooded jacket closer to his skin, and enjoyed that very moment, the moment where he still fit snugly and compactly in my embrace. He looked up at me with his little pink cheeks and grinned. Ah, the simple, yet so infinitely sweet, moments of motherhood. I had no idea how much these moments would mean to my heart.

:0) Meg