Dear Em,
This past fall, we went on our first family hike. You loved it, & Daddy & I were so excited. We couldn't wait to include family hikes in all of the outdoor things we love to do in Rhode Island. We've gone a couple times so far this spring.
There is a trail five minutes from us that is perfect. It's not too strenuous for littles, but it actually includes a few different trails. So far, we've explored a different part of the trail each & every time. We bring a backpack, pack some snacks, & typically let you stop to rest & snack somewhere around the halfway point.
Being the girly girl you are, we should have known that hiking with you would be unique. You started giving us hiking names. Not happy to be assigned a name, I told you I wanted to be called Hakuna Matata. Your eyes sparkled when you heard that. You excitedly told us that you wanted to be called Scout Leader Baby Peach. So, we have Scout Leader Baby Peach, Scout Leader Hakuna Matata, & Scout Spider Man (you've insisted that Daddy is not ready to be a scout leader).
For the first couple trips, you would climb on every rock to "check for danger." While I like that you are cautious out in the wild, I didn't want you to think of exploring & hiking as dangerous & sinister (I would also prefer for your imagination to be a little bit more on the positive side instead of being about babies being in time out, people being mean, or scary things lurking around the corner). So, now we look for magical things in the forest...like butterflies that show us the way. You also carry around a magic wand (aka a stick we found on the path). "Poof! I made that tree appear. Poof! I made that rock appear. Poof! I made your pants appear" (good thing, because I would prefer not to hike without pants).
While sometimes you seem to prefer to walk the path less traveled (i.e. in the brush beside the path instead of on the path), for the most part you're becoming really good at finding the trail markers & reading the signs of the paths. Mostly you love climbing on rocks & jumping off. You seem to have two speeds, running & barely moving. I have to say, it's the most entertaining hiking I've ever done.
I love you so,
Mommy
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