Playground

John and I like to take Noah to the indoor playground at the Avenues Mall. We like this playground OK, except for a couple of things. First, it's completely filthy (imagine hundreds of kids a day sneezing and drooling over everything). John always feels disgusting after we go. Plus, all the parents there are texting on their phones, completely oblivious to their screaming, rambunctious children who are about to run over my little boy (Noah is often the youngest one there, by a couple years). But it gives Noah a chance to run around (or in his case, crawl around) and play and release some energy, instead of being cooped up indoors. Also, he likes to observe the other children - I think it gives him a chance to pick up some tips on how to stand and walk. 

This boy can stand on his own now!

We took him down the slide.

He was unimpressed.

But he's still trying to figure it out.

I'm always concerned every time I go to this playground because I often sit and observe all the other children myself. The other kids are, quite frankly, annoying. They all fight and yell and shove each other and all I can think is, "Is this what I have to look forward to when Noah gets older?" Honestly, I don't ever remember me or my brother acting as crazy as these kids! I always felt that we were so relatively calm and quiet when we played (but I dunno, I remember one thing and I'm sure my Mom remembers something entirely different). I hope and pray that John and I can raise Noah to be a calm and kind little boy. Sure, he can get a little wild and crazy every now and then (he is a boy, after all), but teaching Noah his manners and how to be respectful is high on our priority list as parents.