The Climber

Ever since Maddox was a baby I have struggled to keep up with him. He was walking at 10 months, climbing a couple months later. At two years old he'd take off running down the middle of the street every time we went to go get in the van and leave. He thought it was funny that we'd all chase him and holler. He was my first child for which the "monkey leash" was an absolute necessity every where we went!

Well, now he's four. And the closest park to our home also has a huge rope-web thingie that the kids love to climb. And while I love for them to climb it, Maddox has a limit. He is not allowed to go any higher than this:

He's the little orange spot about 2/3 of the way to the top. He love to hang out up there - see?

Unfortunately, he's always liked to see how far he can push the rules. I turned my head for a minute to take care of another kid, and this is what he did:

I (of course) instructed him to come down immediately while snapping his picture.

And off he went to Time out. He wasn't very happy about it.

Not one single bit.

Fortunately, it was just one incident in what was otherwise a beautiful autumn morning at the park with the bonus kids, Terri, and Eva.

And yes, Maddox got himself dressed that morning. I have since come to learn that he's dressed as No Noggin from the Curious George "Boofest" episode.  That translates into a button up shirt, tie, and a hat. I did convince him to trade in the cowboy boots for sneakers before coming to the park, though.

And THIS pretty girl loves to get her picture taken but won't stand still. She just bounces around with excitement while saying, "Cheese!"

Eva is our swing expert. She can go really high!

It was such a beautiful morning!

We even ran into some other friends while we were there. Of course, they were awesome and biked over...

It looked like Eva was trying to hang like a monkey from the ropes, but she's getting too tall for that - she reaches the ground!

This is how the other kids like to swing. It kind of stresses me out when they get going. I'm just sure someone is going to flip out of the seat onto their head. So far they haven't been able to build up too much speed on their own. But I'm watching them closely.

This little man takes the best pictures. And yes, his eyes are that stunning in person, too. I have had random people stop me while we out running errands and comment on how good looking this kid's eyes are. No joke. And I can't even claim credit for contributing DNA since he isn't mine!

 And here's another sweet smile that I love to see!

And, for a few bonus pictures, this is what Maddox REALLY looked like when he got himself dressed (before I intervened to get things somewhat straightened out / buttoned up):