Aaaaand We're Walking...We're Walking....

For the past three days, New England has burst from a long spell of rain and wind and cold into some of the most glorious spring weather you could imagine. The birds have broken into their spring love calls, the crocuses are bursting into bloom, the trees have tiny green buds peeking out from their branches, the snow is a distant memory, and the air has that wonderful smell that only comes with the new spring season. And the best part of all is: it's walking season!

Last month there were a few days with walk-worthy weather, but there was still snow on the ground, which made sidewalks impassable and walking on the shoulder dangerous. So the best we could do was walk around the yard or hang out on the porch. But for the past three days, Ryan and I have been able to take wonderful, safe, sweet-smelling walks every single day!

He's big enough now to sit up in the stroller without the car seat, so he gets to face front and look at everything going by. Which also means he tends to get the sun in his face for nearly half our walk. Luckily, I found him a cute pair of sunglasses. The only problem is that since he has such a big pumpkin head, I had to get a bigger kids' size, and his little button nose hasn't quite grown into them, so they tend to slide down and give him a sunglasses mustache when we go over bumps. The bows are also a little long, so when he leans back against the stroller back, the glasses push forward so that when he turns his head the glasses stay facing forward. I have to admit, I find both of those issues terribly amusing, although Ryan doesn't seem to share my hilarity. But eventually I get him settled and comfortable and off we go!

I find myself narrating everything as we pass, just like my mom tells me she did when I was a baby. I tell him the names of the birds that we hear singing (by the time he can talk he'll know a chickadee from a robin from a mourning dove), I bark at the neighborhood dogs and meow at the cats, I tell him the color of each passing car. We occasionally bump into a neighbor or a passing jogger or the mailman and we stop for a chat. (His sunglasses have been an excellent conversation starter.) I want him to enjoy seeing and hearing and smelling everything! I want him to be able to take it all in, to enjoy the fresh air, to love being in the outdoors.

And I can't wait until this summer when we take him on a real hike. We already have plans to go camping in the mountains - we have a new tent that's big enough for him and all his accoutrements, and a big framepack so Daddy can tote him up the mountain. (The teddy bear pocket is a very important feature.)

Which seems only fair, considering that Mommy toted him last summer!

But in the meantime, we'd better keep practicing so we're all in shape by the time summer rolls around. And so we're walking...we're walking...