Compromise

I LOVE this age.  Okay the tantrums aren't fun, but it seems that Ollie and I have figured each other out lately so the tantrums seem to come less often.  Its a fine balance between accomplishing what I need to and letting Ollie take the time that he needs to explore and discover.  It also helps to have a regular food and sleep schedule.  Anyway, we had the perfect example of this compromise on our walk home this evening.  A good friend invited us over for dinner and since she lives only about a half a mile away, we walked.  Ollie didn't want to ride in the stroller on the way home, so I let him walk for a little while.  The street that my friend lives on is rather busy, so I wanted Ollie to ride in the stroller.  Since he has perfected the arching back/board baby technique, forcing him into the stroller isn't an easy option.  So, I decided to try and reason with him.  He needed to ride in the stroller, but when we got to our neighborhood he could get out of his stroller and walk.  I'll be darned, but it worked!  The walk into our neighborhood also took about 30 minutes, but we thoroughly enjoyed picking grass, petting the cat and dog that passed by, and inspecting the ground.  Its an amazing experience to watch him explore all of the things that we take for granted. 

One quick story before I sign off.  While we were on a walk in Germany last weekend, Ollie picked up a stick and began to walk with it or pull it behind him (who knew how much fun a stick could be).  At one point Tim handed him a taller stick (Ollie was hunching over so that he could walk with the stick like a cane), but Ollie told Tim that it was Daddy's stick.  After a few more paces, he stopped and picked up another stick and handed it to me saying, "Mommy's stick."  Its the little things in life that bring joy.