Day with Daddy

Yesterday while I took Channing to the doctor, Christian got to visit his daddy at work.

The following is Patrick's recollection to me on the morning:

Christian had a great time! We went over to the pond where we had our pictures taken.
When we came to the stream, I suggested to Christian that we follow it and sure enough, it led us to the ducks. We fed the ducks with the old pancakes and Christian would throw the pieces I handed him into the water. I made sure not to give him any more because he wanted to eat the pancakes himself. I had to remind him several times not to touch the ducks because they would walk right up to us expecting a meal (you know how Christian is--"I want to hold them!")

When Christian tired of feeding the ducks, he began throwing rocks in the water. I tried to maintain the border of rocks along the pond and stream by limiting him to throwing smaller rocks only every 10 yards or so. I pointed out the best rocks to throw next, until I accidentally suggested he throw what I thought was a rock, but turned out to be a dead baby duck. Luckily, I stopped him before he got near it. :) In between each throw, Christian would romp and frolic over the grassy hills, laughing all the while. You can imagine the happy feelings that instills in anyone privileged to watch.

Christians incessant pleas for a pancake would not relent, so I revealed to Christian that I had brought a treat to eat instead. Much to his delight, I whipped out a small piece of licorice for him to devour as we walked from the pond to the library. We said hi to "uncle Bard" when we chanced to see him on his way to work. When we got to the library there was a puddle of water out front, so we splashed in a few puddles. This was great fun, but when he started to use his hands it was time to stop.

Once inside the library, we headed to the fourth floor for the juvenile section. Christian got to push the buttons for the elevator and once inside he would cling to my legs and bury his face to ward off the attention of the strangers only inches away. What a shy guy. :) In the stacks, Christian was up and down each aisle of books, climbing on the stools, and hiding from his daddy. I casually followed after him, browsing for books and finding the ones I looked up in the library catalog. My main targets were a potty book and He-man book, but they didn't have He-man and I forgot to look for a potty book.

My attentions were turned away from the books and back to Christian when he started yelling out "Daddy!" and began to be loud in general. Apparently there were too many stacks of books between us for his comfort. What a little turkey. Before leaving, we made sure to get a "Cat in the Hat" book (his latest favorite) and some other Dr. Seuss classics. After a diaper change and checking out the books it was time to meet mommy at the car. On the way out, I offered Christian another licorice and he insisted on "a big one!" His sly daddy gave him the other 2/3's piece left from his first treat and it looked much bigger, thus satisfying his demands. :)

With mommy in sight and being prompted to recount the best part of the outing, Christian recalled "I changed my diaper, Mom!" What a great time. :)

I tell you--he is the greatest dad a kid could hope for. Christian came home with pink
lips, big smiles, and told me all about his day many, many times. He asked several times to go back to visit Daddy.

What a GREAT dad.