First playground playdate

Fern and Aliyana

We finally had what I feel is a pretty major "first" -- our first playdate with someone we met at the playground. I'm not sure why this took so long; I've been going to the playground for a looong time -- since Fern was about 20 weeks old. It's a big deal for me, though, because I've been a little shy to seek social encounters outside of the playground.

Fern got to know Aliyana in a pretty typical way for us: at the playground, I met her mom on weekdays and Kristin met her dad on weekends. (It's amazing how many babies we know in common without having met the same parents!) The girls are pretty close to the same age, and seemed well-matched. Aliyana's a solid walker, but Fern is pretty physical and lopes or cruises or crawls after her without difficulty.

I'm shy about this sort of thing, as previously mentioned, so I left it to Kristin to make the first contact, inviting the family over for brunch and play. (That's what the photos are from.) The next week was rainy, so Aliyana's mom invited me and Fern over for playdate and lunch. A friendship was born!

Since then, I've been investigating playgroups and have planned outings with some other parents, too. I've even gone to Peet's for a coffeeklatsch with a mom, two strollers, and a dog! The floodgates, it would appear, have opened. Next stop: running a preschool from the house!