So today we had our first family outing since Claire was born. Not trying to bite off more than we could chew, we decided to walk to the elementary school around the corner from our house – a distance of maybe one block. Bea wanted to ride her new bike with the training wheels, and Tom had rigged up a broomhandle on the back so he could help push without wrecking his back. I wanted to try using my short blue Didymos in a cradle carry, which I hadn’t really mastered when Bea was small. Claire was just being her baby self, eating, sleeping and pooping at semi-regular intervals.

Well, we made it to the park and back. Along the way Bea fell off her bike, Claire hated the wrap, I couldn’t figure out how to get her more comfortable and ended up getting hot and flustered, Claire needed to eat and then pooped, and Bea peed in her pants while climbing up to the top of the monkey bars because both Tom and I forgot to ask her to go before we left. And to top it all off, I forgot to bring spare pants for her, although I had brought three newborn nappies, a receiving blanket, the camera and a packet of wipes, none of which we actually used despite Claire pooping while we were at the park. So we turned around and walked home, with a bare-bottomed Beatrice picking fluffy white dandelions and blowing the seeds into the wind.

This parenting thing never stops being a learning experience, I tell you.

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family, journaling by michelle