I hope I never forget

Yesterday was a great day. Simple... but wonderful. Our day officially began with breakfast, some straightening, and a little bit of indoor play. I watched Connor play with Thomas trains and I saw the same excitement in his eyes as when we first bought the trains for Andy when he was Connor's age. It was so cool to see him LOVING the same things his brother used to love, and to see Andy trying to show Connor all the things he could do with them.

Then off we went on a bike ride (I'll put some pics on our family picture blog if you're interested). Well, I walked (Connor is still learning to pedal). After a little over a mile of riding/walking/pulling Connor's bike along we returned home for some hot chocolate. Then it was Connor's nap time and Andy J. and I took off to run some errands (I guess I should mention that Andy Sr. was working from home because he's been sick, I didn't just leave Connor here by himself :o)

There is a little farm market close to where we live now and I had never been there before but had heard good things, so we headed there first. It's a fun little place, mostly run by Mennonite families. We stopped first at a bulk food market. I picked up some spices while Andy J. ogled the rows of candy on the end cap. I told him that I would let him pick something to get but I wanted to look around first. As we walked he found a bag of peanuts and started telling me how much he LOVES peanuts and how Pop Pop always has peanuts for him. I asked if that is what he would like to pick as his treat and he got so excited. After we paid he insisted on carrying them himself.

We headed to the produce stand next and tasted some of the fresh fruit they had cut up for the customers. We talked about the different kinds of fruit and which ones we like best. After this we found the soft pretzel/ice cream counter. We each picked our own pretzel and resolved to walk around the rest of the market while we ate them, but to make a complete circle so that we would end up back at this same counter to order some ice cream.

We walked and talked and looked at all the toys and yummy goodies along the way. We saw some fresh rabbit at the meat counter and decided that we would get some next time we came and try it for dinner (he'll try just about anything, as long as it's not green). We talked about all the different kinds of fish at the fish counter. I told him we would bring Daddy back some time and let him pick what he wanted to get there, which led to the question "Why? Is it because Daddy is better than you at cooking fish?" I smiled and told him that that was certainly one of the reasons.

Now it was time for ice cream. We each got a cone with one scoop (the biggest one scoop ever) of ice cream. We sat at a nearby table to talk and eat. We compared tongue colors as we ate more of our treat. His was blue and pink so he was sure it was going to change the color of his tongue. We talked about what I was going to make for dinner and he said he would eat it, but not the salad part. When I told him it would be just cucumbers in this salad he agreed that he does love cucumbers so he would try it. We decided it would be fun to come back here as a family some time and maybe have lunch and of course more ice cream. After sitting for a while it was time to leave. We ran a couple more errands at stores where he could have been tempted to beg for things and cry when he didn't get them, but instead he just looked and played and then put them away when I said it was time to go.

On our ride home as our "date" was coming to an end I turned and looked in the back seat and said "This was really fun. I had a great time!" With a beaming smile he replied "Me too. I love you, Mom."

I wish I could tuck every moment and word we said to each other into my memory, but those things will no doubt fade over time. I hope that I will always remember how happy it made him just to have this time one on one with his mom. I hope that I can always think of this day and see the smile that was on his face from the time I said "This is a Mommy and Andy date" until the time he went to bed. I started to feel a little guilty that Connor and I have never done anything like this and probably won't any time too soon, but we will some day when he is old enough to appreciate it too. I look forward to doing this many more times with all of my kids. This was really a lesson for me as to how important it is to spend time with each child alone and, to show them how very special they are to you as an individual and not just part of the group we call family. I could see what that meant to Andy J. in his face the whole day. When we said good night I gave him a kiss and told him once again how much fun I had with him. As he reached up to give me a huge hug, he smiled and said "It was really fun for me too."