Walks

I find it difficult to go out for walks with a stroller in tow.  It's okay if Isaac is in the stroller but when he's walking it's tricky to push the stroller and chase after Isaac.  I leave the stroller at home unless I expect Isaac to nap while we're out or it's raining and I don't want to deal with Isaac getting soaked playing in puddles.  I wish we had a full rain suit or some rain pants.

One cold and rainy day, we were on our way to visit the library.  I wanted to give Isaac a chance to walk in the rain but didn't pack any spare clothes.  Besides the stumbles causing his pants to get a little wet, he decided that it would be lovely to SIT in a puddle.  I was not too thrilled.  When we got to the library, I took off his pants and had him running around in his onesie.  It was quite cold, but he would probably be colder wearing soaked pants.  We ended up leaving the library program shortly after it began.  I tried my best to dry his pants (using paper towels at the washroom) but they were still very damp.  I even took us to another washroom to use the hand dryer.  That helped a bit more, but it didn't completely dry.  Now, I am more cautious about letting Isaac romp freely when it's wet outside.  It's ok if we're already on our way home, but not encouraged if we're on our way somewhere else.

When I first started taking Isaac out on daily walks, he would go off and do his own thing.  He ignored my calls and was too busy exploring.  He'd go pretty far away from me and would look up once in awhile to check that I was still around.  I thought about getting a child harness, but in the end decided that I would try to get him used having me hold his hand.

At first, he would push my hand away.  When that didn't work, he just fell or sat down.  He seems to be more comfortable with me holding his hands especially when we're on the sidewalk.  Recently, he has started holding one of my fingers when we're walking together.  I think it's cute.  I'm enjoying this while he's still little.

Playing in the kitchen

Isaac likes to hang out where-ever the action is.  Normally when I'm in the kitchen trying to cook, he likes to be in there too.  Isaac keeps busy by pulling out stuff from our cupboards and drawers or dumping everything out of our recycling bin.  If I'm not watching, he'll try to go through the garbage under the sink if he gets a chance.

Today I put a towel on the floor.  Added some water and some toy eggs to a large heavy pot.  Put the pot on the towel.  Gave him a wooden spoon and a plastic ladle, then let him have a go at the pot.  He had a great time!  He crouched over his pot banging the spoon around, splashing out water, transferring the eggs between the pot and ladle.  After 30 minutes, he was still there playing away - the floor was wet, his clothes were drenched, his face was dripping with water, and he had a big grin on his face.  I stripped him of his wet clothing and he continued playing for awhile.  I was able to get most of the dinner preparation done while he played.

Definitely a great activity.  It was easy to clean since it's only water and I had a towel handy to wipe up the floor and surrounding area.  We will have to do this again another time.