Madelyn has discovered a new hobby that is much more fun than sucking on her own feet or being benchpressed by me. I know, it’s hard to believe that she can think something is more entertaining than my goofy voices and faces, but it’s true. She just recently experienced her first trip to the park and her first ride on the swings.

Based on her utter glee for the swings, this girl is going to totally love roller coasters or rides with drops. She’s also going to have to find a new mom who will go on them with her because I’m too scared. I am the purse holder at the end of the Splash Mountain line on group trips to Disneyland. But who’s the smart one when everyone comes off the log all soaked and dripping and I’m warm and dry? That’s what I thought.

My mom and I walked to the park in her neighborhood which was filled with cute toddlers and other young and pretty moms who wore fantastic Lululemon outfits. I was hoping to make friends with them, but my priorities changed when I realized just how fun my baby was on her first swing ride that wasn’t a product of Graco. I had to stuff the high chair cover in with her, not to protect her from the park swing germs (but, okay, bonus points), but because her Scarlet O’Hara waist didn’t fill up the swing, so I padded it around her to keep her stable.

Once she was properly placed, I started to push her lightly and I wasn’t sure how she’d react, but Madelyn loved it! I could not stop watching her face light up as the wind blew through her wispy hairs and her scrumptious cheeks flapped in the swing’s direction. I got a little weepy as I lightly pushed her in the baby swing and looked over next to us to see two little girls who were swinging on the big-girl swings and deciding if they should play Mermaids or make up a dance next. That’ll be Madelyn one day with her girlfriends and I realized right there as I gave her a little more height on the swing that she’s already been swinging through the past 5.5 months and that swing isn’t stopping. It will always be going up and down. Scary. Exciting. Bliss.

For now, there won’t be any important life decisions about what to play next and I won’t have to watch from the sidelines as she plays with other girls. It’s just Madelyn and me, and we’ll continue to visit the park and I’ll hear my girl giggle through the air.