chronicles of a walk

Moose & I go on walks (almost) every day. After we found a route that was 3 miles, that was our routine (weather permitting). Yesterday, I ventured to walk 5 miles! That's right - 5 whole miles. Today, I was a little tired so we chopped that down to 4. Here is how our walk went.

First, I slather Moose's bare skin with sunscreen (and I mean, slather - we are virtually melanin free people - I'd like Moose to put off getting that first sunscreen). As for myself, I'm okay with getting a little sun after virtually spending the entire summer last year inside. After the SPF 50 is on, I get out the hats. Hats, plural. It's a struggle trying to get him to keep them on. Solution #1: give him a hat to chew on AND a hat to wear.
Today (as he does about 10% of the time) Moose wasn't thrilled with being strapped into the stroller. He would rather run around (crawl around) and play - inside or out. So, I bribe him....with food. A little snack of Cheerios never hurt anyone!

Moose, like most kids (minus those few who have had bad experiences), loves dogs. He gets this big goofy grin every time he notices a dog (big or small) outside. If this were Big A, he would just roll his eyes at the small poodle outside barking. However, Moose responded to this little poodle with delight.

After a few mishaps with timing, I do remember to bring Moose a bottle. I try to make it a water bottle simply to keep him hydrated. He doesn't necessarily like water....today, he got mad.

As we continued our walk, I coerced him into wearing one of his hats for a few blocks. I've noticed that Moose likes to try to touch overgrown lawns, flowers, mailboxes - anything he think he can reach. Sometimes I'll pull over and take a dandelion or something and brush it nicely against his face so he can feel different textures. Usually, he just tries to eat it. He also leans out of the stroller to see the wheels or his shadow.

School was letting out as we were headed home which thrilled this little guy. He loves to watch other kids (I'm pretty sure he's ready to walk any day now). So as he watched kids walking home or playing on the playground, I gave him a hat to chew on and another to wear. This was the outcome.

HAT #1
HAT #2

I think one of the cutest things he does on our walks is randomly throw his hands in the air a-la roller coaster style. He probably likes the feel of the "wind" going by his hands. Yesterday his hair was blowing in the real wind - way cute!

And the kitty that licked his toes yesterday and usually comes & says hello to us wasn't outside, so I think this look was Moose's way of saying "are we there yet?"

And 4 miles later, we were home! Ahh!