Happy birthday (again, belated) to my sweet little hiker!  Turning the dials on the way-back machine to two weeks ago, would you like to see some pictures of Nugget’s birthday hike?  Yes – that’s right – when asked what he wanted to do, out of all the options, for his birthday weekend, Nugget’s first choice of activities was a hike.  Clearly, I’m doing something right!

We chose Piscataway Park for the possibility of seeing animals, and for the mixture of lovely views, a serene trail, and fun farm activities.  The mid-March crocuses were a-blooming.

Don’t be pokey!  We’ve got hiking to do!

Nugget wanted to explore down by the river, so he and I walked down together.  He had about ten minutes of pure glee, throwing rocks into the water (what is it with little boys and throwing rocks into water?) and I was delighted to find a huge stash of perfect spiral shells.  On the banks of the Potomac.  Who knew?

Back up on the trail – it seems we were a bit too early for this hike.  No baby animals, as of yet, the trail story wasn’t posted, and the visitor’s center was closed (fine, because we forgot our NPS passports anyway).  We’re going to have to come back in a few more weeks when the park is hopping.

We made our own excitement.  Don’t worry, Peanut isn’t crying.  She’s dramatically… something.  But it’s not crying, I promise, as you can probably tell from Nugget’s amused expression.

Hello yellow daffodils!  These pictures have made me unreasonably happy.  I’ve looked at them more times than I can count during the long days at the office.

That’s it – just a few!  I was more focused on enjoying the amble along the trails with my newly-minted three-year-old than I was on documenting the whole experience.  But I am still absolutely tickled that my outdoor boy chose a hike as a birthday weekend activity.  Parenting achievement: unlocked!

Do you like to celebrate your birthday in nature?