Shanghai summers are very
hot and very very humid. As a consequence, the majority of
foreigners return to whatever better climate they call “home” for most of July
and August. And as a consequence
of that, most organized activities that we enjoy throughout the year – music
class, drop-in dance, swim lessons, playgroups – are cancelled for summer.
Unbearable weather + no
friends in town + lack of activities = recipe for a bummer summer.
However, these bummers
didn’t seem to affect TJ’s boundless energy, yearning for adventure, and
happy-go-lucky attitude. So I
witnessed a wonderful moment in parenting, when my little bundle of joyous
energy taught me a powerful lesson about staying optimistic and continuing to
enjoy each day regardless of the circumstances.
If the weather was below
melting point, we headed to Fuxing Park, which I’ve chronicled previously as an
endless source of local entertainment.
Swimming became another favorite activity, and luckily we have a terrific
indoor pool with a huge tri-level baby pool. This was a great way to stay cool, keep us entertained, and
tire TJ out thoroughly.
And then there's Babyland, an awesome indoor play gym for little ones. They have a playhouse with kitchen and
plastic food, walls of puzzles to solve and gears to connect, a bouncy
castle, big foam blocks to create obstacle courses, ball pits, jungle gyms, and
lots of instant playmates. Tyler’s
favorite hangout spots are the big blow up running track, the ballpit, and the
stairs to the slide (maybe one day she will go down the slide too!).
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| adventures in Babyland |
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| that little blonde blur is TJ off to the races |
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| slogging through waist-deep plastic balls |
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| and onto the stairs, TJ's favorite |
PS Yes I realize all of these photos are of TJ's backside. She's hard to keep up with once she discovers the excitement of Babyland!
