Over the last month or so, Ben has become increasingly insistent on being carried (instead of walking) in public. While this is positive because it will keep him from running away from me or running into traffic, I feel sorry for his intense fear (when I set him down next to the car in a parking lot and try to hold his hand, he will jump up and down and yell, "Hug! I scared! Scared!")
So this week Clay and I experimented with helping him overcome the worst of his fear by having short hand-holding walks around our neighborhood in the evenings. He's always been hesitant to hold our hands, but it is a non-negotiable on these walks (and many other places). He's loving the walks so much that he's (mostly) happy to hold both of our hands, and even sets the pace on walks by yelling "fass! fass!" and then "slowwwwww!"
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| a (better) view of the rhino |
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| "agida" (alligator) in the background |
In fact, I felt like he had made such good hand-holding strides over this past week, that I took him to the zoo for the first time... with NO STROLLER. He was scared and wanted to be carried the first 1,000 feet or so, but then was totally okay with walking around the zoo with me. I feel like he got more out of the zoo than ever before. And, he was nice and tired out when we were done at the zoo, too, which isn't always the case when he's in the stroller.
Hurray for small strides with an awesome toddler!
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| Our new fish, named "Feather" by Ben |
Ben's new most favorite game is to "build animals" with me. He tells me what animal he wants, and I have him direct me as to its "tummy," "legs," etc.
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