Nature Walks

There are two things that make my day "at home" with Luke work. First is our morning walk, and second is our late afternoon trip to the park.

It has become part of our morning routine to take a 30-45 minute walk in the Wetlands. Luke still is not very fond of his stroller, but my back is equally opposed to carrying his 23lbs around. Instead of giving up on walking, I thought that I would try something to help him like being in the stroller. If we come across a "safe" sort of plant (not poisonous or prickly), I stop and let him touch the flower, leaf, plant, etc.. I also tell him about the item he is touching- "Look at the pretty white flower... See the beautiful iris." (I need to learn the names of the plants around us) He loves touching the plants, and does so ever so gently. Truly, I believe that Luke is a very gentle boy. He does not think to smack or grab anything.

Occasionally, I give him a leaf to hold onto while we walk too. This makes for one VERY happy little boy. He waves it up and down like it is a little trophy. It is so fun to see him explore his little world.

The late afternoon is the hardest part of the day for both of us, so I began taking Luke to the little park just down the street from us. It is kind of a funny park- it is pretty small, the grass is not real, it has a cushy rubber pad under the whole place. It is in a posh neighborhood that is probably too expensive for any real families to afford (even though the advertising signs show lots of kids, I mostly see single professionals or rich, old married couples), so all the kids from our neighborhood walk over to play there.

Luke loves to sit on the grass and watch the older kids play. He also enjoys sitting in the tunnels while I play peek-a-boo with him. Sometimes I catch him just staring out at the clouds in the distance.