Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Wordful Wednesday: The Joy of Discovery

Last weekend, during a rare moment of spontaneity brought on by a brief spell of nice weather in Vancouver, I was overcome with the urge to have a beachside picnic dinner, so we packed up our picnic blanket and some sandwiches and headed in search of beach.  In doing so, we made a new discovery - there is a great little park not too far from us that has a small stretch of beach, though it is admittedly mostly pebbles and very little sand.  But its best feature by far is that it isn't crowded like many of the bigger beaches here.  There may or may not be a few slightly unsavoury characters hanging around, but it's worth it for its proximity to our house, wide open space, fantastic playground, and view of the two elements that make Vancouver so special: the water and the mountains.


 Before the Hubs and I had Lilah, this park would barely have been a blip on our radar.  But now that we are the parents of a toddler, the park has made it onto our much revered List of Things to Do When We Don't Know What Else to Do.  You know, that list you always carry around in the back of your head in case you find yourself kicking around with a restless child on your hands and no set plans. 

Making a new discovery, while it might have been interesting or even exciting, was never quite this full of joy before we had a child.  The pure awe that radiates from a toddler when presented with something novel is absolutely contagious, and I find myself getting caught up in it.  These days, we are all about discovery, and this visit to the park was full to the brim with new ones.

Lilah discovered how great sandwiches can be when eaten at a picnic dinner by the beach:


 The Hubs and I discovered that a (clean, unused - I swear!) sand shovel can be used in a pinch (ie. when you have offered your toddler apple sauce and then realized you forgot to pack a spoon):


Lilah discovered a new climbing apparatus:


I discovered how tall my big girl is getting when she was able to play peekaboo with me through the doorway above the slide:



Lilah discovered the perfect slide for her size and comfort level (she has been known to be bit timid when it comes to slides):

We discovered what static can do to baby fine wisps of hair:

I discovered that getting Daddy to give her a little tickle before I snap a photo results in exponentially more smiles caught on camera:


Yes, folks, we are loving this new discovery, and we've already been back to see what else this wonderful park has in store!

What have you discovered lately?

17 comments:

  1. I was actually late for a session with a private client because I was busy swinging on those swings...true story. Should I be proud or ashamed? Not too sure. :)

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  2. @Tamara Hehe I can totally picture you doing that! Having Lilah has made me so much more in touch with my inner child. But you, Tamara, are admirably well-aquainted with your own! :)

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  3. In recent weeks I have made it a mission to discover all of the tiny parks around here. It turns out there are buckets of them hidden in different neighbourhoods and most of them arent busy in the least. My kids are the same - the joy they get over discovering new places is palpable.

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  4. I love finding practically uninhabited parks. That looks like a good one! And I love the sand shovel as spoon!

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  5. haha! I love that you fed her with the shovel...of course it was clean, we'd never doubt you :)
    PS: Now I'm itching to do a kickboxing workout! Thanks for the comment! It was total motivation!

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  6. @Carolyn We're just resourceful like that! (Actually it was the Hubs' idea. I was too busy looking around hoping there was no one watching and judging us on our incompetent parenting.)

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  7. @Sandra I get the sense that you have what it takes to totally kick butt in the ring. And if all else failed, you could always make your opponent pee their pants laughing!

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  8. So, where is this little park? Or are you not planning on sharing the details...Our favourites right now are Central Park in Burnaby, Rocky Point in Port Moody, Queen's Park in New West, Bear Creek in Surrey and and and...the list is very very long. Would love to check out some new ones with you guys this summer!

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  9. @sydelle.murphy Crab Park. If you drive North along Main until you can't go any further, you're there. I'll email you re: summer detes (because obviously I'm SO good at corresponding as per my track record). ;)

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  10. Great find, Amanda. You must LOVE living there. Visiting you from the Let's Bee Friends Blog Hop!

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  11. Like you touched on, I've discovered so much joy and wonder getting to see the world through my little guy's eyes! I've also discovered he might have the same fascination (mixed with trepidation) with horror that several generations of family before him have shared ;)

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  12. I love those pictures! The sand shovel/spoon one is great!!
    Parks are the best!

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  13. Love your pics and the idea of using the shovel for the applesauce.We become very creative and resourceful as parents, don't we?

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  14. Beautiful pictures!! We recently discovered the Children's Museum. I didn't know what to expect because I'd never been to a Children's Museum. So, I assumed my son would get bored quick, but he didn't! He LOVED that place so much, we stayed til closing. It was tons of fun!

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  15. Jackie, we discovered Children's Museums in Everett and Seattle and they are the best things ever.

    Love the swing picture Amanda.

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  16. Oh, wow! These pictures are beautiful. We didn't make it to Vancouver when we lived in Washington and I was already regretting. This just drove the nail in further. ;-)

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  17. @Dana @ WhatWereWeThinking? Hehe, sorry 'bout that! Come for a visit sometime - most of us are anti-riot!

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