Adventure by a Stream...

 So, here we are this past Labor Day weekend, taking a walk in the woods by a babbling brook. It was a beautiful late summer afternoon, full of glorious sunshine. We took a little hike and then explored the stream for a bit. Victor, with the help of Bry, found a bird's nest, an exoskeleton of a cicada, and a dead milipede. He was delighted, to say the least. With these things and the three horse shoe crabs from Atari, he has now started his very own nature collection, just like his pop. He is quite proud of his collection and stops to admire it many times throughout the day, making sure it is in a safe spot, out of the baby's reach.

Ivan seemed perfectly content in the backpack for a while, his head turning this way and that, trying to soak up all the gorgeousness around him. But by about half way  through the hike, he started squirming around, wanting to get down and walk himself. And when he did, oh man, there was no stopping him. He was off, on a mission to explore. At certain random times, he would plop down and start running his hands through the dirt, staring at all the tiny pieces of organic matter in his chubby palms... then he'd get up and start quickly waddling down the path again. It was so wonderful and fun to see him completely stimulated and absorbed in the natural world.

All in all, I would say it was truly a perfect family outing.