Elijah is such a spirited kid. He has boundless energy and curiosity. I used to try to bribe, force and coerce him into behaving how I wanted when we were out, but eventually I realized that I was frustrating myself and him needlessly. Now, we just operate on "Elijah Time." That just means that we take it slow. I only plan to accomplish one or two things and I make sure to really include him since he loves to help. His favorite errand is carrying packages at the post office. He also likes to go to the grocery store with the child-sized carts so he can push; here in Montgomery it's Winn-Dixie.
Now that we take it slow I find that we both have such a fun time together. I enjoy having him along to chat with and keep me company. He likes being able to help out and explore new places. I also try to make sure that I include a fun activity in our day; something that is especially fun for him like library story time, a trip to the playground or lunch at Chick-fil-a.
One of my favorite parts about running errands with him are the great conversations that we have in the car. He is talking well now, and just chats about any and everything that pops into his head. Also, he has become very affectionate and loving. As we are driving along we blow each other kisses and he will randomly yell out, "I love you! I miss you!" as fast as he can. He also likes for me to carry him more often and we snuggle a little and share kisses. He told me yesterday that he loves to run errands with me. Now, so do I!
Here are a few photos from our errand adventures yesterday, which included a trip to the Maxwell AFB playground.
