McDonald's Playground 12/19/04

Well, I'm still behind at work, but I can't believe how long it's been since I've written anything here that I figured I'd take a bit of a break and let you guys know about a very significant moment in my mommyhood. Craig and I tried to take Tyler to see Santa on Sunday, but the line was way too long and we didn't have enough patience to stand on a line like that to sit on the lap of one of Santa's helpers who looked like he had a bit too much eggnog at some underground pub. So, instead we headed out and tried to figure out what to get to eat, when Craig suggested he was in the mood for McDonald's. I wasn't, but since Craig was and he brought up that they had the playground, I went along with it. Tyler ate a bit of his happy meal, and then he was off! He had a blast running around in the little baby Habitrail! There were a bunch of 6 or 7 year olds in there playing tag, and they were wonderful with Tyler. At first, Tyler stuck around by Daddy, playing with the steering wheel that was inside one of the tubes. But once I got there, he was comfortable enough to run around a bit, and next thing you know, he's up in the top tubes that go along the ceiling! The older kids helped him get up there. There were windows so we got to catch a glimpse of him every so often. He was so cute! He had such a smile on his face! And every so often, one of the kids would come around the corner and yell "Boo!" at him, and he's scream gleefully! As Tyler was having such a great time, I sat there watching with amusement, pride, and terror. My heart was in my throat the whole time - what if something happened to him? I couldn't get to my baby immediately - I'd have to go through the tubes. It was then that I realized those annoying worrying moms who used to watch me do backflips on the top of the monkeybars weren't so crazy afterall. Nevermind the fact that everything was soft and padded - still, my baby wasn't with me, so I'm sure there was a possibility of him getting hurt. It took a while, but I was able to unclench my fists and enjoy him running around, though my heart continued to race. I was amused by that as well, as was Craig. Tyler played in there for about 20 minutes - I was hoping to get some pictures, but everything was enclosed in Plexi-Glass, so I couldn't get any pictures that didn't have a glare on them. Once Tyler came around towards the slide, I called his name up the slide, and either he came down or one of the kids "helped" him down, but down he came, all sweaty with a huge smile on his face. He was done playing, and willingly put his jacket on. He and Daddy have started this thing where they jump up and down while they're holding hands on the way to the car, or wherever they are going, and he did that to the car. And that was the last bit of energy the little Bug had. He was in the car at 5:30 pm, we got home and Daddy changed him - Tyler slept right through it. He didn't wake up until the next morning! What wonderful dreams he must've had!