Cox Arboretum Metro Park

Yesterday, Lucas was scheduled to get his hair cut. I love Lucas' hair appointments because it's a kid shop with DVD's, balloons, suckers and conveniently located right next to a Dunkin' Donuts.

I had to stop...you know, for the kids!

Axel really wanted nothing to do with the donuts and just spent his time trying to get a hold of my coffee. Lucas picked out a non-cake donut based on frosting and sprinkle color so he enjoyed eating the top of his donut. I was surprised by Axel's reaction to the donuts but have to admit, they were not as dreamy as I had remembered. However, the coffee...mmmm...it was dreamy and I think another hair appointment is in order. If only Axel had hair, we'd be in business. :)

After our mid-morning treat and a quick hair cut, we were off to Cox Arboretum Metro Park. The park is still a little brown after the LONG Winter but Spring is in the air and on the ground. The flowers and tree buds are just starting to pop up and we are so excited to explore the metro parks again!
Lucas is talented, here he is walking on one leg. This photo make me laugh because he asks me daily if I think he can "walk on one leg." As you can see, it was a little cool out.
Axel was all bundled a ready to go explore.
He loves birds and these ducks caught his attention. The mallard was VERY protective of his lady and would not let any other ducks near her or the pond. It made for some fun spectating.
So did their little ducky butts!
I don't know how we missed these trails last year but we did. Good thing Lucas was paying attention because he found them tucked away towards the back of the park. He was so excited and picked the blue trail to hike. All the hikes at the metro parks are color coded and correspond with different distances. We had no map so it truly was an adventure and luckily it was only a 1.1 mile loop. A 3 mile loop would have been a little hard with no baby backpack!

We have a new hiker in the family too!
I LOVE THIS PHOTO! It makes my heart smile and melt all at the same time.
Axel was focused. He was pretty brave too and really enjoyed the freedom.Oh-no, a hill! A true test of his new hiking skills. No too bad, I think he's got it.
Oh but wait?! Does he have it? Nope! Not good...falling...falling...
Caught it! He did a great job catching his fall but then realized that standing up from this position is a whole new thing on a hill. He was stuck! I thought it was hilarious but he wasn't as amused! I honestly think he would have stayed in this position (screaming) for very long time before figuring out he could sit on his butt and get up that way. :)
Don't worry, Mommy saved the day and then it was back to hiking.
At the end of the hike, we found the trail head and map so it was fun to see where we had been. Lucas loves maps and was keeper the rest of the day.
Mr. Eagle-eye Lucas discovered another part of the park we missed last year...the children maze! It's made out of little shrubs and was super cute. Lucas was not impressed because there was only one entrance/exit. "It's not a real maze! It doesn't have an exit." I'm not sure the criteria to be a true maze but he was pretty adamant. We had fun anyways and I was glad we found it since the butterfly house doesn't open until the end of June.

That's it!

The butterfly house always distracted us from exploring the entire park last year.
What fun discoveries this time around. :)