A Father's Day Hike

We celebrated Father's Day this year by heading to the woods for a hike. Thinking that Drake would enjoy running some of that two year old energy off, we optimistically chose a hike we have done before and remembered as not too steep. While not too difficult, I think our memories are beginning to fade; at least I can blame pregnancy brain.

As we got our of the car at the trail head, our plans of Drake running and hiking on his own were quickly dashed as he told us he would be riding in the backpack and not walking. Much to David's dismay, he acted as a Sherpa and carried Drake on his back until we got to a steep hill down to the river. Drake walked that portion, jumped over logs, and marveled at the bugs that he saw along the way. He actually did amazingly well given the terrain that we were asking him to climb.

Once at the river, Drake snacked and talked about all of the sharks and whales that he could see in the water. While David and I did not witness the marine animals that Drake was able to see, we did see a number of rafters and kayakers on the water.

If you look closely, the shirt that Drake has on says "David" on the back. This was actually David's shirt from when he was little. He thinks he wore it when he was five (hence the "5"), although David was a big kid also. I just can't imagine Drake at two is the same size as David at five.

On the hike out, Drake had no interest in riding in the backpack. He wanted us to carry him on our hip, but that was not happening for long. He walked some, I convinced him to ride in the backpack some (by bribing him with a snack), and we carried him some. The day capped off with a lobster dinner, which Drake was interested in looking at and wanted me to pet, but had no interest in touch (or eating) himself. Other than the six ticks that David found on his person, I think it was a great Father's Day.

The Timeout Tree

Drake has decided that it is important for me to have a timeout tree. The timeout tree is where Drake puts me when he wants to be allowed the freedom to explore the contents of the quanze hut shed; a place he knows he is not allowed to go.

When he decides to put me in timeout, he simply tells me "timeout Mamma" and walks me to the tree (slightly pushing me form behind). Once at the tree, he directs me where to stand and puts my back against the tree. He then places my hands in my lap and crosses then, just like we do with him when he is put in timeout. Drake then cautiously make his way back to the shed, occasionally looking back at me, pointing and saying, "no, Mamma, timeout".

My timeouts often continue for a couple cycles because, he really cannot be in the shed, so I take myself out of timeout to remove him from the shed. One interesting thing is that he has not figured out to turn my back to the shed or put me on the other side of the tree. The silly boys gives me a clean slight line to his mischief. At least we know that he is understanding that when you are in timeout, you are not allowed to do anything.