I have a tendency to call Zane
Bud or
Buddy and Vanessa picked up on that tendency too. But a few months ago Vanessa started sprinkling in
Bub when she helps him and plays with him. Now her referring to him as such is pretty common.
Bub is pretty special to Vanessa. And Vanessa is pretty special to
Bub. No doubt.
Bub loves to pick up his sister from school. (He had the roughest transition when his sister started K.) There's not much time between dropping her off and going back to get her. If I'm not cramming in something during the small window of time, we leave early enough to let
Bub walk the return trip. Typically the kids fight over who locks and unlocks the door, but this is
Bub's opportunity without competition.
Bub is on his way!
The walk involves deep concentration for staying on the sidewalk and for keeping pointed in the correct direction. There are so many tempting things along the way, so Mom plays the voice constantly guiding him.
We stop for spinning and dancing.
We stop for more spinning but include must-haves such as sticks, which end up stowed away in the stroller's basket along with a half-eaten sucker and pretty leaves. (Extra special things go in the backpack.) :)
We wait for Mom to walk ahead so
Bub can practice his independence in getting to his destination. Sometimes I don't go as far as he would like.
After stopping to wander in neighbors' yards and to say "Hi!" to stone geese and ducks, seasonal flags with characters, and tree faces, Mom swoops him up to get to pickup on time. It's important to be there on time since Vanessa is always anxious to get back to
Bub.
