The Swing

Being a first time mom, I often rely on the sage wisdom of tried and true moms.  So, when my mom was here and I mentioned how I couldn't wait for Monkey to get bigger so he and I could go to the playground together she asked me why I was waiting.  My mom felt that Monkey was big enough to use the baby swing at a playground.  And I was very very excited.

So, after my mom left last week, Brian came home from work on Friday and I convinced him to take a family trip to a local park so we could push Monkey on the swings.  I think Brian was a little skeptical, but I was holding true to my mom's belief.

We parked, saw that a few other dads were out with their children (apparently I was supposed to be home cooking dinner while dad took the kid), and put Monkey in the swing.

Umm.... Mom... Monkey is NOT big enough to sit in a baby swing at the park.  I mean, I'm just saying, he seems to be a mite small.

But that didn't deter Brian and me.  Gosh darnit, we were at the park, it was beautiful, and as you can tell, Monkey was completely ENTHRALLED by the boy whose dad was pushing him ever higher (that boy would be stage right... or the way Monkey is looking).  So, we made him fit.

We propped him up on the edge of the swing and Brian pushed him a little (as you can tell, Brian is still skeptical).

I was really expecting lots of squealing, something similar to how Monkey reacts when his Dad throws him up in the air.  I got him staring at the other boy.

And he continued to stare and it started to get a little uncomfortable as the other father gave us a few looks.  I wonder if he was uncomfortable because Monkey was staring or because two adults were okay with the fact that their baby was precariously perched in the swing and that another child could fit behind him.

This is the only time I got Monkey to actually look at me.  It is one of those looks that is a cross between, "Oh, wow, I completely forgot you were here because I was busy staring next door," and "Seriously Mom, can we end this experiment and put me back in something a little more form fitting? Huh? Can we?"

And so we left soon after this picture.  We put our baby back in his car seat (where he fits), strapped him in, and decided to wait a few more months for the swing.