The Great Outdoors

It looks like McKamy might be an out-doorsey girl!  We’ve been spending some time sitting outside on the grass in the evenings lately.  She loves to lay on her back and watch the tree blow in the breeze.  She’ll also turn her head and listen when a bird chirps nearby.  She seems perfectly content to just smile at the world and relax outside.  When we go to Oma and Opa’s house, she is enthralled by everything she sees – the horses and pool and trees.  She loves to be walked around so she can see the world.  And it is such a big world!

I was really hoping she would love being outside because we want to foster a love of activity and nature in her.  It’s so easy for kids to “veg” out in front of the TV or XBox or computer.  There are so many mindless distractions available on the market right now and society as a whole is rather lethargic. Couple that with the US’s obesity rate, and I want McKamy to have the healthiest habits we can teach her.

I grew up spending a lot of time outside – either just running around outside and messing with our pets or enjoyed the woods out in Linden.  And both my sister and I were truly water-bugs during the summer months.  I remember going camping in the summer with my family and taking trips to state forests and camp grounds.  I also did girl scouts from fourth to ninth grade.  Don’t get me wrong, I did spend a lot of time inside watching TV or playing on the computer, but being outside was a part of who I was.  Keller did not really grow up doing much outside.  He played sports, mostly baseball in the spring, but there were few activities outside that he really enjoyed or sought out.

That being said, it’s monkey-see monkey-do when it comes to building good habits.  That means that Keller and I both have to set a good example for her if we hope for her to copy us.  We’ve already significantly changed our eating habits since she was born – eating at home much more frequently (and thus eating out less often), increasing our fruits and veggie portions at each meal, and focusing on eating leaner cuts of meat.

Activity wise, Keller’s been biking to work three days a week and I’ve been walking around the neighborhood fairly regularly with our neighbor in the mornings.  The water should be warm enough soon to start taking McKamy to the neighborhood pool and teaching her about water and ultimately how to swim.  Kamy’s first trip to Linden will be over Memorial Day weekend.  Hopefully we will be able to continue developing McKamy’s love for the outdoors.

Walking trail near our neighborhood: