Ready?

As my summer class comes to an end, I'm finding that I have more time on my hands than I've had in a long while. Of course I've had to redefine what counts as "fun" on those days when it's just Aidan and me. How cool that I've found a few things we both enjoy: parks, books, and cafes. I might take the baby out of Seattle, but I'll never take Seattle out of the baby!

Here are some of our favorite things:

1. Board book bliss. Aidan used to eat books, now he devours them with his imagination. On his top ten currently: Goodnight Gorilla, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Grow Up!, Me and My Bear.

2. People watching outside of my favorite neighborhood cafe, a place that looks pretentiously hip in that Seattle way (I swear everybody who works there dons dark-framed glasses), but that is actually quite baby-friendly. I just don't get those "we're too serious for kids" looks from the baristas or the patrons. Of course, we generally sit outside because there's nothing Aidan loves more (other than board books) than watching the bustle of cars and busybodies at that cafe. He's a true-blue Seattle-ite and I'm a lucky mom: I get at least 30 minutes of adult-reading time on these days.

3. Parks, more parks, and then more parks after that. We live within walking distance of about four parks, so it's all good. It helps that my superstar mother-in-law recently forked over serious cash for a new top-of-the-line stroller that we call our "Bentley." Alloy wheels, topnotch suspension, easy maneuverability, and a fold-and-stow system so easy I can do it: we're talking shameless baby-bling.