Franklin Park - 8/10

This week we went to play at Franklin park in Alameda. It was our first play date with the Alameda mom's group. Everyone we met was really friendly.The park had a toddler and child area to play in and a really cool Sandbox. Holly made friends right away. Isabel here is 11 months, her mom wasn't actually in the play group, she was just at the park playing with her baby.Holly climbed right in and made herself at home. She found a shovel and a bucket and had a ton of fun in the sand.Some of the other little boys in the group Erik and Max were playing in the sandbox also. Holly is always intrigued with other kids and likes to watch them. She is very observant.Here she is playing with the bucket and digging in the sand. This was her first time in the Sandbox and she did great. She didn't try to eat the sand which was amazing.She was able to climb in and out of the sand box and got a lot of practice walking on the unstable surfaces.After playing in the sandbox for a while she wandered over to play structure trying to find a place to start climbing.There she is, such a little thing exploring the big wide world. The slide she was at the base of was a climber and had little foot holds she could use to crawl up on.Then she figured out where the steps were and started to climb up the stairs and find her way to the top of the slide.Mommy followed her and she decided she wanted to slide down the bumpy slide, which wasn't that much fun at all.We took a break from climbing to head over to the swings which is always a hit. She loves to be on the swings, I just have to get her to learn she can't walk under them while the other kids are swinging.It was back to the sandbox for round two. Most of the other mom's from the group had left by now, but there were still a lot of other kids to play with at the park.I had recently purchased some sand and beach toys which I forgot to bring, but I am now pleased to see that she is old enough to play with them and will enjoy them.She liked to scoop and rake the sand and though she didn't quiet get the concept of filling the bucket with dirt yet, she dumped it out and liked putting the shovel into the bucket.We took a juice break and Holly had some of Mommy's lemonade, which is now one of her favorite drinks, and she is getting really good at using a straw.Even though she didn't eat the sand she couldn't help but put the toys in her mouth and chew on them, but what are you going to do, I figure a little dirt can't be too bad for her.These are the steps to the tall twisty slide which she really wanted to go down. The first time she climbed up I wouldn't let her, so then a little while later I saw a dad with a 16 month old and he let his kid go down the slide, and I asked him about it. He said he just made sure he was lying flat on his back and then his granny caught him. She offered to catch Holly so I let her go down the slide. She laughed and loved it.She decided after that that she was a big girl and wanted to explore the rest of the park. We rode on the Merry-Go-Round for a little while, and Mommy made herself dizzy.This is a shot showing how good she has become at walking on all different types of surfaces. Doesn't she look so grown up.She doesn't know how to walk with shoes yet and it was getting a little chilly, so here she is with her bright red socks. Granny mailed us some shoes which we should be getting any day and then we will try and practice with them some more. We got another pair last week, but they were a little big making really hard to walk.Another trip back to the sandbox to make friends with Julia and Charlotte, Holly did a double take upon first meeting them, going back and forth between them, yes sweetie, it really is two different babies.Such a happy girl babbling away showing off her socks to the twin's mommy and playing with the big red bucket.These were two trucks that some girls left in the sand box earlier, they were digging trenches and roads for the trucks and Holly was climbing into there town, so I moved her into the other side. She was eager to get back and check out the trucks once they were finished.All in all it was a wonderful day, and this was a pretty great park. Below you will find the details on how we rated it.
Slides - 1/2 - there were slides, but she needs someone to catch her and go up with her, best with two people.

Swings - 1 - yes

Surface - 1/2 - it was mostly sand, it's not our favorite, but it was clean

Shade - 1 - The park was mostly shaded, but there were areas to run around in with more sun, and the older child play structure was sunnier. the Sand Box was shaded which is nice.

Climbing - 1/2 - She was able to climb, but I have seen better. I had to be right behind her and there was only a small platform without a lot to do on it.

Parking - 1 - We parked right on the street right next to the park. The park itself was large and I think there is even a pool on the opposite corner, so we might have to check that out another time.

Bathrooms - 1 - There were indeed on site bathrooms. No Changing Table, but there were picnic tables for that.

Distance - 1/2 - It took us about 20 minutes to get home, we left around 6:40 and hit only a teeny bit of traffic, being in Alameda, it's not the closest park, but it isn't too far either, and good to meet friend's who live in Alameda.

Friends - 1 - there were a ton of babies. Even though we were there for the playgroup, those mom's only stayed about an hour and there were a ton of other parents and babies that we chatted with and played with it is a very busy ark, but not overly crowded.

Fun - 1- overall it was a lot of fun, it had extras like the sandbox and there were toys there so you didn't have to bring your own. There are other areas like grass and ball courts and a pool we didn't even explore, but even our little area was a lot of fun.