Brody is Off and Out

We have reached a huge milestone with Brody. Let me caveat this by telling you that we live in a rather large neighborhood with only one entry in an out, so there isn't any "thru" traffic. Also, we live in the back of the neighborhood, on a cul-de-sac that is ALWAYS chock full of kids.

So, what has Brody started doing? He is now allowed outside to play by himself, as long as there are lots of other kids out there, he stays off of the black street, and only stays in the grass and driveways.

The other kids all love it when he comes out to play and they watch out for him quite a bit. It is SO FREEING to be able to let him go. We still go check on him and Kurt usually goes out after a while to play, too, but just the fact that he has reached such a big milestone is so fun! Oh, and another HUGE thing... he has learned to get on, make the swing go, and get off all by himself. We DON'T HAVE TO PUSH HIM ANYMORE! HaDeeDooDahDay! Before I had kids, I used to imagine going to the park, pushing my kids in the swings, and it was so wonderful. After the first 3 years of that, it can get pretty old, as you always seem to get dirty shoes bumped into your shirt and face and all you really want to do is collapse with the other mommies on a bench and not move for 1/2 an hour!

I remember going out and playing ALL DAY in my neighborhood as a kid, until you heard mom calling "Dinner!" out the front door. I love that we live in a neighborhood where all the kids play together outside.

Happy, happy days! Seth is pretty jealous, but we are realizing that he just needs to learn there are some things he still can't do yet, and one of them is go outside without Mommy or Daddy.