So we went camping last night at our normal, close to home place, near Deckers. It was Sierra's first camping trip, but more importantly it was Peyton's first camping trip he may remember. In the morning before we left, he woke up and wanted to read a book, so I decided we would read his books that pertained to camping. He was SO excited to be going camping like, George (curious George). I went to my 6 week follow up appointment at the midwifery and Daddy and Peyton packed for camping. He was so helpful and as soon as I got home from the appointment he started asking about camping. What was more amazing was while we were on the drive he started talking about gathering water from the pump in a bucket (like curious George) and we had to explain we were going to a campsite without water to gather, so we had to bring it ourselves.
Once we got there he wanted to help with everything. He helped erect the tent and carry stuff from the car. He wanted to be in the tent at all times and was so excited to have his own headlamp that it was on long before dark. He wrestled with Daddy on the air mattress (which now has a hole in it) and by then was extremely tired. He'd had no nap and became super cuddly. He sat on Daddy's lap and made Daddy's day. He soon switched to Mommy's lap and then back to Daddy. He wanted to know all things outdoors. The moon, the sun, the dirt, the bugs...it was all so exciting and new.
In the middle of the night he woke up crying. Was he confused about where he was? Was he scared? Who knows, but he went back to sleep on Daddy and slept until morning. He was so exhausted in the morning, though, that he was super fussy. Less than half way home in the car he fell asleep and slept in the car at home for at least 45 minutes and then went back to bed for another 2 hours or so. That just doesn't happen.
We can't wait to camp again, with plans to do so next week. Things are so different with him now. Daddy took him on a walk to explore. We talked about bugs, trees, the moon, the sun, and animals that might wander into camp. It is so amazing to give to our child the experience of sleeping outdoors and discovering the wild. He's been camping since 6 weeks old, but now, he remembers, repeats and enjoys. I love this part of being a parent. Experiential education...it's how we go to go on amazing excursions with TRiP at UF and now, it's how we will introduce our 2 year old to the great outdoors, bond with him, and teach him to preserve the planet. Life is good.
