Ideas Above Her Station

We went to the park this afternoon, because the sun was shining, and the temperature had crept up into the high 40s, which felt positively warm.

I bundled the children up, and off we went.  We had a minor disagreement when we got there, because I wouldn't let Margaret have her mittens.  She felt that this was an affront that needed to be wiped out in blood.  I felt that she shouldn't have them because she wanted to go clambering all over bars and things, and it's really hard to hold on to playground bars with knitted gloves.  She didn't see it my way, but we eventually reached the compromise solution that Ellie would wear mittens, and that would somehow make it all right that Margaret wasn't.

I don't ask how her little mind works.  I just take what I can get.

Anyway, we went down to the playground, and Margaret took off running.  Somewhat surprisingly, so did Ellie.

It's amazing how quickly they grow up, isn't it?

Anyway, Ellie seemed pretty pleased to be out exploring the world, if a little astonished by what she found there.

Margaret, ever keen to show off the monkey-like skills she has mastered while playing at the playground with her father,* showed me how she can walk all around the playground on top of the wall.

So, you know, there's that.  And then while Margaret was parading around, Ellie decided to start climbing as well.  Luckily for my peace of mind, there's only so much she can do in the climbing department, and it really only means that she can stand up.  But she did that, and she was very proud.

Margaret descended from the wall and decided to join Ellie.  It was very cute.  

But it didn't last, because Margaret needed to go and scale some large rock formations.  Because, you know, she's almost 3, and that's the sort of thing that she should be doing.

And that was fine.  She climbed up that and went down the slide and climbed up and went down the slide while I help Ellie.  And then Ellie started to squirm and thrash, so I put her down.

Then this happened.

Ellie is not big enough for that, so all of us went over to the swings.  Margaret was completely on board with Ellie not being allowed to climb, because Margaret does not approve of Ellie trying to do big kid things.

I swear they had a blast.  But Margaret wanted to go back to the slide, and I said she could.  And then this happened.

She just doesn't give up.

And for those of you who read these posts in order to nitpick my narration of the events, you can see Margaret in the background of the last picture, but that's because she is looking at her rock formation which she was climbing up to get to the structure that the slide launched from.  But she had just come down the slide, and that was why Ellie was climbing it.

Sheesh, everyone's a critic.

*I admit that I am a sissy, but it gives me the willies to watch her climbing about all over the place.  I agree that she needs to learn sometime, but it makes me cringe.