Beautiful Weekend

This weekend we had beautiful, sunny, moderately warm weather, so we took advantage of the opportunity to get out of the house!  On Saturday, we took Nora to a local park that has a lot of play equipment and several types of farm animals.  She loved going down the slide and took watching the animals very seriously.

Last night we also got to see most of Billy's family at a party hosted by Billy's newly engaged cousin, Heather, and her fiance Jeremy.  It started after Nora's bedtime, so we had to do some schedule juggling, but she was mostly cheerful for the better part of two hours, which gave us a chance to visit with everyone.  (Though not a chance to take pictures, unfortunately, since I didn't take my phone.)  Maybe by next year she'll really be the life of the party!

Today we went down to a park along the Chesapeake Bay for a picnic and to wander around.  Nora loved running all over the place and she was tickled by how many dogs she saw there.  Each time we would happen upon another one, she would shout "HI!" and try to run over to it.  She was quite the hit in her sunglasses, and most of the dog walkers invited her to pet their dogs, so I think she found today's park visit even more fun than yesterday's.  When we took her out on the fishing pier, I was thankful it had safety cables because she did not want to be carried.  She wanted to run all around on her own!

I am so ready for spring!  Nora has been mobile for more than four months now, but since we've had to spend most of that time inside, it feels like we are just now getting to experience how much fun leisure time can be with a toddler.

... and now, back to grading papers.