Thunder in the mountains

Spring has sprung

Ben has been making lots of speech progress lately.  Every day or two, he says something new that surprises us and represents a forward stride.  Here are some examples:

• "Daddy, who's car is this?"
• "Daddy, I love you too."
• "What are you making?"

Good stuff!

Ben and I took Tucker for a walk today in the foothills.  When we got some elevation, we could hear construction at a new home site.  Ben looked towards the sound and said, "Daddy, what's that noise?"  If he's said a clear, relevant interrogative like that a year ago, I'd have had a heart attack.

We talked more as we walked along, but he got lost in the serious pastime of "rolling rocks down hills".  I spoke at length and think I convinced him that it was a bad idea to do this over switchbacks.  Only once did I have to yell "Rock!" to warn people below.

I like this particular section of trail a lot - it's a loop, so there's no point where you have to backtrack (that can lead to arguments).  The downside is that bikers like it too - some of them en route to the "bobsled run", so they're getting fired up for extreme doings.

Ben kept stopping (I swear) every two feet to pick up another rock and roll it off the trail.  His red vest made a convenient handle for hauling him off the trail and keeping him out of the way of bikers.  Eventually, I got him to run for a stretch and ignore the rocks.  I stayed as close to him as I could without stepping on the leash he was trailing.

As we approached a blind curve, I said, "Ok, let's walk.  Now it's quiet, so we can hear if any bikers are coming."  There were no bikers coming, but there were a couple of lady hikers.

Quite loudly, Ben said, "Daddy, you pooted!"

Clear, relevant, complete sentence, and accurate.  Yay, Ben!