Saturday with Alexander, Sunday at the park

I didn't have a chance to write last night because I didn't get home until after midnight.  Why?  Because we watched Alexander for most of the day, and in the evening he and I went to his house where he went to bed and I waited for his mom to return home.  While he was at our house, though, he and Madeline played.  Let's call this game "dinosaur farm":

Madeline has a funny habit of wearing her bucket like a purse and saying "bye bye!"

Alexander is into dinosaurs and so asked me to read him the dense, 880-page tome The Dinosauria, edited by David Weishampel.  We peeked at it and he decided perhaps a dinosaur pop-up would be more appropriate.  Meanwhile Madeline sought tickles nearby.

Everything went smoothly, and we even ran into James (plus entourage) at the park!

Now for today.  Our first event was a late brunch at Olga's with friend Tyler (stopping by on a visit from New Haven).  We got a table next to Madeline's favorite corner of the garden, and after we'd finished eating she sifted through the rocks and shells in search of particularly choice specimens.  She also found something our server thought might be a premature apricot from one of the trees.

Madeline seemed to have a lot of energy, so we stopped at India Point Park for her to let loose and run around some.  She first ran to the water.

She tried to climb through the fence to swim with the swans.

Next up: India Point Park has a playground that, it turns out, is mostly for bigger kids.  So Summer helped Madeline play.

At the playground Madeline admired a mural; this section depicts the Providence Coal Company.  I'm not sure whether the company specialized in import or extraction, but the mural presents a nice opportunity to mention the reputation of Rhode Island coal (back when there was such a thing).  A fine example comes from a 1915 U.S.G.S. Bulletin, which reported that some folks "contend[] that in the final great conflagration Rhode Island coal will be the last thing to take fire."

Anyway, back to Madeline: she makes a fine boat captain:

After the playground, we returned to the waterfront to observe some fowl (two ducks and a swan).

And on the way back to the car Madeline stopped to admire one of the park's (relatively) new signs.

Apparently romping at the park did the trick, because Madeline napped in the car from about 3:30 to 5, at which point the rest of the day was given over to cooking, dinner, bathtime, and bedtime.