With the beautiful weather the last couple of days - low 70s, lots of sun and a good breeze - the boys and I have been spending more time out during the day. There's been lots of pool time and slide time, which were limited to late evening during the recent string of 90-degree weather. We've even un-parked the stroller and resumed our long stroller walks through the neighborhood, albeit with a little alteration.
In an attempt to get the boys more used to going out into the world, Josh and I have been working with them a little more on following directions and walking without any restraints (strollers, harnesses, hand-holding, etc.). Sometimes we take family walks and sometimes I venture out with the boys one at a time on a short circuit around the neighborhood block.
Today was a new variation. We took our normal long stroller walk but I let the boys down one at a time to walk along beside as I pushed the stroller. I've done this in the past with Connor some, but today was the first day we rotated "turns" of who got to walk and who had to ride. It actually had the added bonus of giving Mommy a break on pushing a stroller not quite as heavy as normal, as there were very few moments when all three boys were tired and in need of a ride. But, the down side is we almost missed our normal lunch time because it took twice as long! Better planning next time is clearly in order.
Connor, of course, loves the freedom and does extremely well for pretty good lengths of time. He does eventually get tired, but never, never wants to be put back in the stroller. If I ask often enough, he will sometimes let me lift him back in, but only if I persuade him he's doing Mommy a favor to get back in and never because he's tired. He tends to slow our pace down the most, because he's constantly pulled off track by flowers and bugs and trees and grass and rocks and just about anything you can imagine. But that's part of the fun, and as long as it's not too hot for his brothers who are riding, we take our time.
Xander loved the freedom of walking too! He started off a little hesitantly, probably because he's never been allowed down on a stroller ride, but did really well. He held my hand for just a minute or two (on each of his turns), stuck pretty close to me behind the stroller a little while longer, and eventually was leading the pack in his excited little run. But, and here's the good thing, he's much better at responding to my comments to "Wait for Mommy!" or "Stop!" when he's getting a little too far away. And he never once ventured out toward the road - a big improvement for him! He even went willingly back into the seat when it appeared he was getting tired, and seemed to understand the concept of taking turns with his brothers. He eyed Connor, whose turn followed his, enviously but without complaint as Connor walked beside his stroller seat!
Sawyer, my clutcher, loved being free from the stroller, but wasn't much on walking. He did walk for short periods, clutching on to my hand the whole time like a good little guy. But after a while, he'd walk a little in front of me and quickly turn around right into my legs with his arms up - he was ready to be held and carried for a while (something he usually gets on our one-on-one ventures around the block)! I carried him for a little while, thinking to myself how absurd it must look to passers-by that I was pushing a triple stroller with one arm that had one toddler in the front seat, an empty middle seat, and a big toddler in the back seat all the while carrying a pretty good sized toddler with the other arm! He was none to happy to be strapped back in, either, let me tell you.
A fun little morning adventure. I had a much easier job with the stroller. The boys got some much needed freedom and exercise in a relatively safe environment and learned a little bit about taking turns. And it took up a big chunk of our morning, some of which is usually spent in front of the television on PBS programming. Not that I mind to let them watch a little educational television or even a few Pixar movies, but I was certainly glad to get them outside and share my love of the outdoors with them. They smiled and laughed a lot, which is a pretty good sign that we'll be repeating our adventure a lot more as the weather allows!
