Puddles, Dirt and Other Kid Stuff

Here is the scene: it has been raining heavily on and off for a couple of days. The kids have figured out that the back yard is a very fun place to play. It is Sunday afternoon post-nap and we have trees to plant in the yard. If you are quiet, you can hear the sound of the ground slurping up the massive puddles that are scattered about the yard.

Knowing that I relished my time playing in mud and puddles as a kid, I wanted to give Ella and Noah the opportunity to step bare footed into a puddle and to feel the dirt in their fingers. I chronicled the experience.

Ella immediately found water to stand in.

...and splash in...

...and to put on her head...

Meanwhile, Noah was doing manly things like checking out a pile of dirt.

(Side note: If you look closely you can see that he is spitting out some dirt. It apparently does not taste as good as he thought that it would. If you were to hang out in my back yard, you would hear me say, 'No, we don't eat the dirt,' over and over again.)

...and testing the depth of a puddle...

...with a ball in hand, just in case he needed to throw it or something...

He then wised up to the fact that Ella was playing in the 'deep water' so he decided to venture over. (Have I mentioned that they are both walking??)


And together they climbed, splashed, squealed, and got supremely dirty.

All in all, a good intro to the world of backyard messiness.

And a little video of them toddling around...I love the fact that they are so serious about their play that they can barely look up at the camera.