Partytime Preschool Style

On Saturday Mather was invited to a birthday for Owen, one of her chums at Preschool who was turning four. The party was in San Mateo's Central Park, a heretofore undiscovered (by us) gem just a few minutes from the City.

The cake, of course, was a big hit, with Mather digging in all by herself.

One of the premier attractions was the miniature train that ran around a little loop in one corner of the park -- Mather has always loved trains and this one fit her perfectly. Plus she got to ride it will all her friends.

That's Mather sitting behind her friend Zach on the first time around, and below, Mather sitting with Charlotte on her second circuit. Mather didn't want to leave. She's still talking about going back to keep riding "the train in the park", even though she doesn't know which park in what city.

It's a real throw-back to a bygone era -- no seatbelts, no harnesses, just a lurching little train where the kids better learn to hold on. On the first ride Zach, a four year old, was quite the gentleman, asking both Charlotte and Mather if they were ready before the train got going.

One of the real treats of going to this party, aside from getting to really meet some of the other preschool parents, was the chance to see Mather interact with other kids she knows. We have playdates with our friends sometimes, but she'll only see those kids once every few months at most -- these kids she sees three times a week. We've always wanted to be a fly-on-the-wall at daycare and now preschool, and this was the closest chance we've gotten -- we got to really see her interact and talk with kids she's comfortable around. And seeing how much she liked Zach, Charlotte, Adam and Owen was really heartwarming.