Wednesday, July 24, 2013

cooling down.

It has been hot. Like, reallllly hot. And while air-conditioning can offer relief from the 90-degree weather, nobody likes to spend a sunny day inside. Am I right? Well, the other week Jon and I found ourselves dining at Rustico in Ballston. I'm not going to lie: We went there for the great beer selection and the company, not for Cecile's entertainment or as a way to beat the heat. But beat the heat we did. Because there, in Ballston, between Rustico and Buzz and surrounded by high-rises and busy streets, is a spray garden. And there were a dozen or so kids running through it, looking like Labradors at the beach. Maybe the beer went straight to my brain, maybe the heat made me delirious, or maybe I'd given up fighting Cecile's urge to get down on the floor and crawl everywhere we go. Whatever it was, I grabbed a swim diaper I happened to have in the car, stripped Cecile down, and let her do her thing. And I am mighty happy I did.
At first, C stayed along the spray park's periphery. She would crawl to one of the fountains, consider being brave, and then chicken out and then head back toward mom and dad. She's really mastered the bear crawl and didn't ask for assistance, and she probably would have been perfectly happy along the water's edge. But I wasn't going to have my baby girl be a chicken. If we were going to do this, we were doing this, you know? So in we both went ... !
It was so refreshing! Cecile navigated her way around every fountain and Jon and I each took turns watching her and drinking our beers. We ordered an appetizer or two to our table on the side patio and were able to really relax. After all, Cecile was happy, mom and dad were happy, and everybody was cooled off. Is there really a better way to spend a summer Saturday? 
^^Can't help but include a good camera attack ;)^^
I have little doubt this Rustico-sprayground outing will become a habit of ours. Cecile had a great time, and so did we. And the best part: lunch was followed by an unusually long afternoon nap. Winning! 
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