Babyland

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!).

adventures in Babyland

that little blonde blur is TJ off to the races

slogging through waist-deep plastic balls

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!