The other day, Ellie asked to wear her crown and gloves while she ate breakfast.
And she loves putting on her dresses.
But she's not all princess. I took her on her first hike today, and she was in her element. We both were.
I invited a friend, but her daughter had a random but major throw-up episode right as they pulled into the parking lot, so she had to take a raincheck and head home.
I was a little tentative about hiking alone, but the mountainwoman in me couldn't resist.
Gettin ready for the hike. Cheddar bunnies? Check.
She was a little unsure of the backpack at first, as you can see if you look closely at her expression. She warmed up to it pretty quickly once I told her it was a ride. She started saying, "whee!" and "backpack!" I think the talking backpack from "Dora" helped with this one.
When Ellie heard the water from the creek, she yelled, "water!" so we stopped and checked it out.
Me and my little hiking buddy
Once we got on the trail, the scenery was beautiful. I said, "This is awesome, huh Ellie?" and she kept saying, "awesome!" throughout our hike from then on.
When we got pretty far up the trail, I stopped because I heard some larger-than-lizard rustling in the leaves. I looked where I heard the sound come from and saw what I am pretty sure was a bobcat running through the brush (away from us, luckily). Since no one was around and we were in a secluded part of the trail, I thought it would probably be best to turn back.
We stopped and had a little picnic on the bridge,
then continued our hike up a main trail that was more populated than the first. Well, not in this picture, obviously. But I could hear them, at least.
On our way back to the car, Ellie kept giving me hugs and saying, "Ohhh!" (like you say to a cute baby). It was so funny! I loved the snuggling. There was something really fun about being out in nature with just me and my baby.
I can't believe it took me a year and a half to take this outdoor-lovin' girl on her first hike. She was so happy to be out on the mountain and to see the lizards and chipmunks.
We will definitely be doing this again—with another adult or at least some pepper spray, of course.
2 comments:
Kimmy, I loved these "self portraits" you took of your hike. Mine always turn out with me deformed in some way. I guess my arms aren't long enough. Ellie is so cute! So glad it was a beautiful day. I'm with you...go with someone next time :) See you tonight! mom
What a great idea! The hike looks beautiful and fun. Ellie is so sweet. She is such a peanut. I can't imagine putting Tanner in a back pack and carrying him around. He has always been a tank.
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