Day 11

This is the first full week of school. It's also about as busy as a week a fourteen month old could expect to have. After a weekend that included swimming class, minor league playoff baseball, and a baby triathlon (running around the house, riding in a bike trailer, and the aforementioned swimming), it will be interesting to see how he reacts to all we have planned.

Apparently my son was up a little earlier than I realized. When I got into his room this morning, I discovered several articles of clothing that had been laying next to his crib had been pulled into it, and the two stuffed animals that normally keep him company were thrown out of it. I kept everything just the way it was, knowing my wife would certainly appreciate his redecorating.

Today's adventure was lunch in the park. It was a beautiful day, so I figured we should spend it outside. We made a quick stop at Wawa for sandwiches and found a park bench on the edge of a small reflecting pool. I fed my son small pieces of turkey sandwich and apple slices as we watched people and wildlife around the pool. It was a very serene scene until a small dog wandered away from its human companion. My son pointed at the dog, several hundred feet away, as it induced a slow speed chase nearly all the way around the pool. Finally, the dog tired of being in complete control of its supposed master and relented. Good thing, too, as my son had lost interest. We cleaned up, packed up, and eased on down the park trail.

My son alerted me of the presence of each animal we saw along our way. We saw squirrels, various birds, ducks, geese, and dogs. He pointed at each, alternating between calling them "doog" and "puh". Amazingly, he was correct in each instance. He was overwhelmed as we reached the Reading Public Museum, the centerpiece of the park, and we came across a group of roughly 20 ducks resting in the shade. We stopped, sat and watched them for several minutes. He seemed quite concerned as a cocker spaniel slowly and menacingly approached the raft (apparently that's what a group of ducks is called). The dog was feeling merciful, and lead its human behind our bench and around the ducks. Having been deprived of a god deal of excitement, we decided to move on. On our way back to the car, I found that a fourteen month old does not fit in 8-12 month old shoes. Actually, he fits in one of them, but not both. He humored me and trotted around in them for a while anyway, taking time to pose for a few photo opportunities. What a guy.

Tomorrow we have band practice at school and get to venture into the big city. Depending on the length and timing of his nap, he might even get to watch some high school field hockey. Life in the fast lane...