Tall drink of water

Peanut, at not quite 2 1/2, is really, officially starting to outgrow some of the toddler things. Like, we took down the baby gate from the bottom of the stairs. She swings on the "big-girl swings" in the backyard and at the park. We no longer strap her into her booster seat at the table (she still needs the height a bit, and I like it for psychological reasons -- as in, stay in your seat and eat!).

She's also approaching the end of her need for sippy cups. It used to be that when we went to the park or anywhere out and about to play, I'd bring water so either of the girls could have a drink when they needed. Because the environmentalist in me prohibits buying bottled water, I always brought tap from home. Until the end of the spring, I was bringing the water in a sippy cup so Peanut could have a drink without spilling the entire supply. I had just begun to wonder how I could replace the sippy with something a little more grown-up, when the girls discovered L's biking water bottle. Yet another benefit of our biking hobby, as it turns out.

"Daddy's water bottle" has become our standard drink bearer for all outdoor activities this summer. Both girls have figured out how to work it and drink out of it, and it is perfect in so many ways. It's big enough to have adequate water for both of them, it doesn't spill, and it fits in the car cupholders.

I've seen the individual flip-lid straw thermos things for kids and all manner of stainless steel bottles (which I think are very cool, by the way). But Daddy's water bottle is just the perfect thing. However, it will look a tad out-of-place when we're toting it in the February dead of winter as opposed to the August sun and sweat...
Photo credit goes to Jellybean!