Toddling home

We walked home from school today -- something we haven't done very much at all.

We know he's got the strength and stamina to walk the distance -- they go for long walks at school all the time -- so the distance was never the problem; It's the timing. Jon has taken him to school on foot, but he's had to scoop him up halfway and carry him if Jon had any hope of making it to work by noon. I have never attempted it because carrying a 28 pound kid while lugging his school stuff was not possible for me. I always had the wagon or the stroller. That is, until today.

It was a beautiful afternoon and he wanted to walk home. So I had him walk beside me while I pushed the stroller. It was actually quite fun. He picked up twigs and leaves and tried to shove them in his pockets. Using a fallen branch (with leaves still on it) as a broom, I watched him sweep crabapples from a neighbour's front walk. I watched him pause and say hello to dogs and their owners. He said hi to the neighbours and cats. He said hi to the roofer standing on a ladder. Life is so busy and the neighbourhood, full of wonder. I had no idea! It was great fun walking with him, but man, did that take a long time!

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Today was also a noteworthy day on another front. When I picked him up, his teacher had something very interesting to say.

"Your son had quite the day today. He didn't want to do things we asked him to including going for a nap. In fact, he said "If I don't nap, Mommy will pick me up sooner."

My. Jaw. Dropped. You see, my standing request at the daycare is that if Dex does not sleep during nap time, they should call me so that I can pick him up and settle him for a nap at home. Otherwise, I have one exhausted, cranky baby and our entire evening becomes a complete write off.

My son's gift for pattern recognition has obviously paid off. In addition to hearing me give this instruction to his teachers, I guess he has figured out that this is a sweet deal. Anytime he wants to get me to come, all he needs to do is fight sleep. Wow. He does not miss a beat, does he?