A love of the outdoors.

One of Carter's favorite places to be is outside.  I love watching him explore and the joy he spreads when he's playing outside is contagious.  I wanted to compile some of my favorite moments with him outside to remember from over the past year and a half or so. Or as he has called it for the longest time "'side." Most of these are from our backyard but some of them are from adventures elsewhere.

Playing in Nana and Papa's water fountain.

His favorite outside toy has always been the water hose in our backyard. 

Peek a boo in the play set. 

Picking strawberries in the backyard. 

Painting in the driveway. 

Having a water fight with Daddy. 

Running barefoot at a pumpkin patch. 

Loves for Daddy to throw him up and catch him. 

Playing in the rain with Daddy. 

Grandma and Grandpa's huge oak tree and spring blooms. 

Examining bugs of all kinds in the backyard. 

Amazed by the flooding at Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

Running through the sprinkler and playing with water on the first warm enough day this spring.

Peanut butter and jelly for lunch and a drink of water from the hose. 

"Let the children be free; encourage them; let them run outside when it is raining; let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water; and when the grass of the meadows is wet with dew, let them run on it and trample it with their bare feet; let them rest peacefully when a tree invites them to sleep beneath its shade; let them shout and laugh when the sun wakes them in the morning."

-Maria Montessori