Stomp!

This afternoon, mum, QQ and I drove to the lovely People's Republic of Boulder (I had to give a nod to the Westword guys there) to visit our dear friends Sandy and Arthur. Arthur is a physicist, writer and all-around brilliant thinker, and Sandy is an amazing and beloved artist (as you can see) and a bit of a local hero in Boulder. It was their first time meeting Flynn QiuQiu, and as you have already seen, she's always up for a social occasion!

It always feels a little like "coming home" walking into Sandy and Arthur's beautiful and peaceful home in the foothills. After all, it did serve as my temporary home when I first moved back to Colorado after fleeing NYC way back in 1990...thanks to their unique hospitality and generosity. I don't know how I would have made that massive transition without them, and I am grateful to this day.

After our visit, we stopped into the new and swanky 27th St outdoor mall to check out a couple of shops (and, more importantly, avoid rush hour on Hwy 36). QQ loves a change of scenery (I think we ALL have more than a touch of cabin fever after our protracted illnesses) and had a blast. Here she is doing some legwork with my mom outside of Eddie Bauer. Just look at that face! She radiates joy.

I feel very lucky and blessed with this kid - how engaged she is with us, her energy, her unflagging spirit, her radiant joy, and just all around can-do attitude. This kid is a winner, and I'm proud (and amazed...astonished!) to be able to call myself her mom!

QiuQiu and LaoLao enjoying the scenery.

We found a play area nearby with some pretty cool animals to climb on.

She liked the turtle. The only one she wanted nothing to do with was the giant trout...but I don't really blame her...those googly fish eyes!

They also had a nice, gentle transitional slide. A perfect first sliding experience for Flynn.

This was the first try, and she was a little uncertain, but of course, she enjoyed it, and we got a big grin at the end! We even had to go back and do it three or four times.

Back home, with some dinner in her stomach, she was ready for her evening workout. This is her jolliest and most energetic time of day. So we did some walking practice. Basically, I sing "Walk, walk, walk, walk..." in rhythm, stomping my feet on either side of hers, and she stomps along with me. The stomping is new, and makes us all very excited! It makes her even more excited when her audience is excited. So basically, stomp time is a big hit with the QQ!

It's all stationary stomping with her, though. If I want forward walking motion, I basically have to instigate it on my own power, taking her along with.

But I mean, seriously...just look at her! She is SO CLOSE! That's a kid who's ready to take flight! I don't even know why we're rushing it. With her strength and energy level, when this kid is mobile, we're gonna have a little tasmanian devil on our hands!