Getting Outside

Amelia over at Tales of a Mountain Mama and her hubby have a family rule about getting outside for at least 15 minutes every day regardless of the weather. I love it and think it's an awesome way to instill a love of the great outdoors, appreciation for fresh air and nature, and enjoyment of physical activity in your children. I'd be lying (to you and to me) if I said I could that here with my family. I mean everyday is tough and I'll be honest, as much as I love being outside and active, I am a fair weather gal... meaning those cold winds of the Atlantic ocean and the wet Newfoundland snow are some what inhibitive. What I can do though and what I am really trying to do is simply get outside more often.

Late yesterday afternoon, Hudson was getting a little antsy (aka whiny) sitting around the house with me. I can hardly blame him. After two plus weeks of being under the weather with laryngitis followed by a head cold and me still with a head cold, there's been a limit to his out-of-the house excursions. And let's face it, too much time between four walls will make any of us antsy. We had already worn out our jolly jumper, excersaucer, play table, book nook, treehouse TV and sing-song games for the afternoon. Nap had been had and belly was full. At a loss of what else to do, I thought of Amelia and her notion of getting outside.

Hudson's sniffles are all but gone and we had been at the doc for a check-up earlier yesterday, leaving with a clean bill of health. Des was already out back with a fire in the firepit, so I bundled H up in his bunting suit, put his hat on him, and out we went.  It was exactly what we all needed.

We showed H the fire again and talked about it a little bit. Got close enough to feel the warmth and talk about hot, but stayed far enough away to be safe!

We enjoyed some baby love. Seriously, how cute is a baby so bundled he can't move his limbs?

love from daddy

and love from mommy too

I walked Hudson around the "back nine" showing him trees and branches and leaves. There was plenty of exploring and fortunately the bunting suit immobilized him enough to keep dead leaves out of his mouth!

We played some peek-a-boo with daddy from behind the birch tree, quite the fun game!

While outside, I remembered I wanted to take in a fall sunset with the fam before the end of November and the timing was perfect. H enjoyed the late afternoon bottle outside by the fire as the sun went down before we finally headed in for supper. While we couldn't see the sunset into the ocean from the backyard, we could watch disappear behind the trees and watch the sky change colours from a bright blue to a pale blue edged with orange and gold before it finally darkened up. Lovely way to wrap up a day.



the mid-sunset sky

Getting the fresh air, seeing new things, playing a few games and simply enjoying each others company was the perfect cure for a bored little boy. Note to self: remember this. Remember this afternoon mid-winter when it seems too cold and go outside anyways. We were all happier after our 15 (plus!) minutes outside. It is amazing what a little fresh air can do.

A bonus: seeing those sweet cheeks turn oh so rosy pink. Too cute.

love you handsome boy