Our daily walk

I'm a firm believer in fresh air for mommies and babies. Jonathan and I go for a three mile walk almost every afternoon. Occasionally we drive to a new neighborhood to explore, but most days, we do our standard loop. We go through our subdivision, then out to the main road and loop through the next two developments and back again. We've met four or five moms and their kids at various points along the way, and now it's a rare day when we don't meet up with some of our friends.

Jonathan likes sitting up straight in his stroller. He's usually content to just watch the scenery roll by. He looks pretty surprised when I come around to the front of the stroller to ask how he's doing - I think he forgets that I'm there. Moving objects will grab his attention - dogs, kids playing, trucks and buses - and he'll turn his head to watch them. He got very excited last week when some fire trucks drove by with their sirens going.

One of our friends has a swing hanging from a tree, which she has invited us to use whenever we like. It's designed for babies, with a bucket seat and a high back. A rigid gate comes down to act as a seatbelt. Jonathan can sit up now for almost a minute at a stretch, so I thought this week it might be fun to try. He's so serious on these walks! When people greet him, he just stares intently and takes everything in. So I wasn't expecting much when I hoisted him up into the seat. I buckled him in and gave a tentative push.

He looked startled for a moment, and then he cracked an ear-splitting grin. I gave him a little bit more of a push and said "Whee!" He started to laugh and didn't stop. The giggles just bubbled out of him; he was absolutely delighted. We swung for a few minutes and then I took him out. He seemed amused to be standing right up against a tree and laughed some more, then pressed his head into my neck. I think he was saying "That was fun, Mommy!"