An Afternoon in the Park

Burgess Park is in Menlo Park and is the park that I grew up playing in. It's set on a couple of acres and has everything you can think of - the library, a lagoon, large fields, tennis courts, several pools, a gymnasium, a playground area, the list just goes on and on. It's a wonderful place and I'm so happy Peyton loves it as much as my cousins and I did when we were his age.

This past Sunday, Peyton asked to see the ducks, so we went to Burgess (the lagoon is home to wild ducks and other water fowl, turtles and fish).

We were lucky to find a couple ducks resting on the grass which intrigued Peyton.

Peyton had a lot of fun getting close to the ducks and seeing their reactions.

And, there was something special waiting in the water...

...A large egret! (I think).

We walked around the lagoon and were pleasantly surprised to see a couple turtles warming up in the sun. Peyton told them to look at the egret (bird).

He recalled one of his favorite YouTube videos, Opposites are Fun, and kept saying that "turtle shells are hard". We told him to see for himself.

A video of Peyton's first encounter with turtles:

Then he decided he wanted to sit on a rock and take in the scenery. My handsome little man!

While we were playing with the turtles, the three ducks that he chased into the water earlier had come back out to dry off. Peyton didn't take too kindly to this and decided they needed to be back in the water!

He took it upon himself to wrangle up the ducks and keep them in the water.

He had us laughing so hard!

 

We then went over to the playground and played on the play structure and swings and took a break for lunch. He was getting tired, so we decided to call it a day, and make our way back to the car (and go to Costco). There were a couple of dogs tied up. Peyton loves dogs, so we had to stop and visit these two.

And, then we stopped one last time at the lagoon and found more turtles soaking in some rays. Oh, you're in for some laughs here!

 

I know we shouldn't have laughed, but we really couldn't help ourselves!!

Play Date with Naoki!

A few weeks ago, we were invited over to Peyton's friend Naoki's house for lunch and a play date. Peyton was so happy to see his best buddy from his early intervention class and Naoki was happy to see him too!

We went into their backyard for some outdoor fun.

Naoki's little brother Koki joined in the fun. He's just so darling!

Peyton practiced dunking the basketball in the hoop.

While Naoki was having fun filling up the wheelbarrow with water.

Koki helping his big brother.

Peyton decided he enjoyed watching Naoki, so he would dump out the water just to let Naoki refill it.

Then we took a walk to one of the play areas in Naoki's community.

James and Aki, Naoki's Dad, were pulled into chasing the boys around. (Koki stayed home as it was his nap time).

It got hot, so we went back to their house and, since Koki was asleep, Aki brought out the "special trains" - a motorized TOMY train set from Japan that is just awesome. Satoko, Naoki's Mom, and Naoki built one track.

Look what the engineers built (Aki is also an engineer)!

Naoki and Peyton loved watching the trains zip around.

We want to thank the Matsuda's for having us over that day. We had so much and look forward to doing it again soon!

Our Multilinguist

Since Peyton has really started to talk, he's been picking up all sorts of language. He's understanding more and more Spanish each day and can repeat several words. And, I've had a little fun teaching him how to respond to a sneeze.

Oh, this is going to be FUN!!! I can't wait to teach him more languages!

Swim Lessons

Peyton has been in swim lessons since he was 8 months old in baby-parent group lessons, but he started private lessons earlier this year. We've been at the Peninsula Swim School in Redwood City for about two years, and are so thankful for the service we've received there. He's had the same teacher, Carrie, since he started and he absolutely loves her! He always gets a big smile on his face when we're at the pool, and is happy to jump in to her arms.

He feels very comfortable with Carrie and being in the water in general. Carrie knows that Peyton is autistic and is so careful with him and has been very happily surprised with how much he's now speaking. She nurtures conversations with him; she's amazing!

He loves going down the slide (yes, he's a daredevil in the water too).

This week, Carrie got him to try diving again. Success!

Peyton always finds a toy that he will play with throughout the lesson. This week, he was overjoyed to find a Dory (Finding Nemo) toy. Carrie used that to her advantage and got him to dive under the water to pick it up. She's a genius!

While he was fishing for Dory, one of the other classes in the pool started swimming the length of the pool which caused lots of splashes and delighted Peyton! Carrie's been having trouble getting him to kick on the kickboard, but after seeing that amazing spectacle, Peyton decided to try again!

And, by the end of the lesson, he was diving under to pick up or touch whatever he could.

I can't say enough how thankful we are to the Peninsula Swim School and especially to Carrie for how wonderful she is with Peyton in the pool.

Play Date with Mia

On Sunday, we had a play date with one of Peyton's friends from Early Intervention, Mia. We met at Stafford Park for a few hours on what turned out to be a hot afternoon and had a great time!

We started off playing with the water spouts; Peyton loves the water!

Mia wasn't too happy about getting wet, so we moved over to the swings, where she was much happier!

Mia had fun on the slide.

And the teeter totter. Isn't she just adorable?

Mia's mom, Carmen, posed for a picture with Mia.

Group hug!

Snack time! Peyton and Mia both love Veggie sticks (potato sticks flavored with spinach and tomato, and organic!).

Peyton slid down the big slide (so did Mia, but I didn't get any pictures/videos).

Peyton decided it was time to wear sunglasses on the swing (James' glasses).

Peyton and Mia had fun sliding.

And dancing!

Aren't they cute?

Peyton decided to jump in water before we went home.

It was great afternoon, and we look forward to more play dates with Mia and Carmen!