17June2008: Day 23: Mote Park Take II

Well, Makenna and I went back to Mote Park BUT this time.....I actually drove! I was very nervous all morning about actually going this far (probably 3-4 miles) but it meant going through downtown Maidstone and changing lanes and going around, round-abouts (like our JC Circle but less controlled). I finally prayed for the 5th or 6th time and then got Makenna in the car and off we went.

We stopped to feed the ducks first, although all you see in this picture is geese. She finds this quite hilarious to do. Except this time, one of the stupid geese actually came up to her and took the cracker right out of her hand. This obviously freaked her out a bit. I think it nipped at her finger. I told her she either has to eat it quicker or throw it quicker. As you can see in the picture, it looks like she still hasn't grown much hair since we left, but you'd be surprised - she actually has more. It's just so blonde that it's hard to see.

After that, we drove back up to the playground area where we stayed for quite some time. She climbs, with the help of mommy, up the planks and over the bridges and then down the slide. I'm trying to get her to do it more independently but she feels she still needs my help. What's funny, that we've found, is that when she falls she just sits or lays, depending on how she fell, and she'll just hold her hands up. She can't touch the ground with her hands. It's funny to watch. She'll whine and if she's fallen forward, she'll lay her forearms on the ground but she can't get up that way so she'll put her right hand down but there's something about her left hand that it just can't touch the ground. Not sure where this "phobia" has come from. So today, she fell on the trampoline area they have and I made her get up herself. She wasn't too happy about it but she did it.

Other than that, she just walks around the playground area and doesn't really seem to want to try too many things. I got her to explore a little further today by going into areas she doesn't normally want to go in, or on playground equipment she avoids. I was able to get her to sit on this thing that spins for a bit and when she got off, she was obviously dizzy.

Oh, then one really funny thing is that she saw this little boy in a Fred Flinstone type car (where you use your feet). She immediately went up to him and followed him as he went up and down this area with his car. He stopped when he realized she was following him and he asked, "Do you like my car?" Her reply was "Yes". He asked a couple more times and each time she said "Yes."
So not only does she have a thing for clothes but for guys in cars. GREAT! We are in sooo much trouble! She finally grew tired of him though (Good thing - his car wasn't that great).

Well, then it was time to drive home. That, unfortunately, did not go as smoothly. I missed this turn I was supposed to take so I had to go another route and that led me down a street that had curbs that jutted out. That would've been okay if it wasn't for cars coming the other direction. Needless to say, I ran over a couple of the curbs before I got the hang of it. I'm hoping that these tires are durable and I don't have a flat tomorrow (I checked later this evening and they look okay). It's just that you're so used to judging the left side of the car because you sit on that side, that when you're thrown to the other side, it's like the width of the car gets distorted. I was just glad it was a curb and not a person or another car. I guess I'll get more practice tomorrow as I'll get a chance to have the car again and if it's a nice day, I might try an animal park that's not too far away. So I better start praying now.