Flying Monkeys and Quadruped Fish

A while back, our darling nephew and niece came to visit us in Berkeley. There are a lot of great parks in the area, so we decided to take Braeden to one. We went to Cesar Chavez Park, which overlooks San Francisco and is perfect for kite-flying. 

Cesar Chavez Park. I've brought a book to this lovely reading spot a few times now.

Before Braeden came, Will and I drove to Chinatown and bought the perfect kite for our little monkey:

Will and his buddy.

Will got Braeden started and taught him how to control the kite. Will is an excellent teacher, Braeden is a very smart little boy, and the wind was perfect. Bs picked up kite-flying very quickly.

After 10 minutes he was confident enough to fly the kite with one hand and run around with it, Will in tow. Here he is holding the kite while picking a dandelion.

I am terribly afraid of heights. I'm so afraid that when I fly a kite, if it gets too high, my knees get kind of wobbly. I know, and it doesn't make sense to me, either. Anyhow, Braeden is apparently the opposite. He loved flying the kite really high - just loved it. Russ, Braeden's dad, would have loved seeing Braeden having so much fun, but Russ is a sheriff and couldn't make it to Berkeley that weekend. We sent him pictures! Next time...

It's pretty hard getting a 3-year-old boy to pose for a picture. See attempts above and below.

This is the best "group" picture I got when we visited the Pier 39 Aquarium. Haha! Next time...

You're probably wondering why this post has "Quadruped Fish" in the title. Well, Braeden is obsessed with dinosaurs. In one of the more educational dinosaur shows he watches, he learned the term "quadruped." Braeden got very excited when we walked through the shark and fish tunnels, and randomly started saying, "That's a huge quadruped! Wow, look at the quadruped!" People around us smiled. He's still got to a thing or two to learn about locomotion!

Braeden is a curious and excitable boy. Watching Will carry him around and explain things to him warms my heart. Will's going to be such a great Dad. (For the record, we are not having kids anytime soon. We're too busy enjoying our niece and nephew!)

The fearless explorer.

Could I end with better pictures than these?

 

Maybe, if Ella were in these pictures too. Since she's still pretty small we left her at home with my Mom. It was fun having them stay with us. Especially when Braeden crawled into bed between Will and I and asked us to tell him stories. That's the way to my heart, Bs! I look forward to next time!