Navigating through a break in the rain

We made a visit to the Target just up the street from our house. Spencer saw lots of shapes and colors he was happy to point out as we navigated the aisles. He was equally engaged in the scanning machine at the end of the aisle that told you how much an item cost. We weighed two separate sets of measuring cups, looked at the price of each, and made our decision. "I like this one," he said, holding up the superior of the two. And the more expensive one - the kid has good taste.

Since he's been stuck indoors the last few days, I thought it'd be nice to give him a chance to get some fresh air and walk home since Lydia needed to do some more shopping. We crossed busy Jefferson Blvd. and once we were safe on our own street, I set Spencer down so he could walk / run the rest of the way home. The rain and high winds have blown the needles and a few large branches from the pine trees that line our street every which way. When Spencer came across a branch blocking the sidewalk, he weighed his options. He looked back at me (to make sure I was still there?) and began to figure out how he would navigate the obstacle: to the right a swampy-looking strip of grass between the street and the sidewalk. To the left, a steep hill leading up to the front porch of a house. "Here, take daddy's hand, Spencer." I said. Nothing doing. He pulled his hand away and set about it himself. He decided to try his luck at stepping OVER the branch and carefully, deliberately stuck his hands out to balance himself and gingerly stepped OVER the branch. First one little leg, then the other.

There was no holding him back after that. Smiling and laughing, he took off on a full sprint past the branch and splashed into the first puddle he could find. "Spencer all wet!" he happily reported. "Daddy all wet too!" Not really, but I wasn't about to rain on this parade. He seems to be getting more sophisticated coordination every day and this little obstacle course was the latest proof. (Mike)