Just Swinging

Sicily wanted to help Daddy build the new Chicken Coop, but the concept of holding screws for very long tends to loose it's novelty rather quickly with a 3 year old little girl. Especially when the weather is nice and there's a swing set right next door.

Swinging is one of Sicily's favorite activities. It is impossible to go to a park and not have to push her in the swing at least half of the time. I literally have to bribe her to get off the swing and go try something else. She loves the slides and sand, but those swings are still her favorite.
We actually had our first mishap on the swing this morning though. She wanted to go extra high, which tends to mean an Under Dog. If you don't know what that is, it means as I push her on the swing I follow through and run underneath her as I push her, thereby putting her rather high into the air.

Well the park we were at the swing really was probably too short for me to do a proper Under Dog. So as I came under her and then let go on the other side she lost her balance and fell a good 3 feet from the ground landing flat on her back. And since there is no sand at parks any more she was covered head to toe in mulch. I felt like the worst parent ever.

But knowing how much she loves to swing I didn't want her to develop a fear of the swing. So once she calmed down we got right back on. She was laughing and giggling in moments, but a little too much. I was in front of her tickling her and as she started to go back away from me she let go with one hand to try and tickle me back. Of course, sending her off of the swing a second time. This time, thank goodness, I was able to catch her. So no injuries, the second fall, but just a very frightened little girl.

She did get back on our swing set once we got home, but she much prefers little pushes for the moment.