A Walk with a Toddler

This morning I took Claire on her first walk that involved her actually walking, instead of just sitting in the stroller and usually falling asleep. She enjoyed it immensely and I found out that a walk with a toddler is a very different kind of experience. My walk this morning was not like a normal walk at all.

Normally when I go for a walk I proceed down the sidewalk in one direction, making a few 90 degree angle turns to get to where I'm going. Claire likes to walk a couple of steps, turn about 180 degrees, walk a few more steps, turn around again and then walk a step and just stop and look up for a while. 

Usually when I walk I stay on the sidewalk not venturing down the paths to anyone else's house because I think it's awkward and weird to hang out on someone I don't know's property. Claire, on the other hand, thinks that these paths look exciting and interesting. 

When I walk by myself I like to look around a bit but mostly just concentrate on walking. I don't let myself get too distracted by the things around me and like to enjoy things from a distance. All Claire wants to do is discover new things and not just look but touch and play with these new things. 
When I go for a walk I try to avoid rogue dog poop at all costs. I would rather step in a puddle, getting my foot completely soaked, than in what one of the neighbourhood dogs left behind. Claire is intrigued by the dog poop, assuming it is a fun toy. She reaches down with her little hands to see what it might feel like between her fingers and in the process falls over onto it. Yech! 
Normally when I walk I like to listen to the sound of the birds chirping in the trees above as I continue on my way. Claire also likes to listen but with her full attention, not walking or moving in case that will distract her from the sound. She is also confused about what birds are and decides that they sound like dogs, so she begins to make a "woof woof" sound back at any bird that chirps around her. 

When I go for a walk I love to catch a glimpse of a rabbit as it hops along. Claire also loves to see a rabbit but has a hard time dealing with it when the rabbit disappears under a porch. It is so disappointing that she has to cry and wail for quite some time in order to get over it.
Usually if there is ice on the path when I am walking I either try to avoid it or step carefully across. Claire found out that she hates ice very much. She stepped on it without really noticing that it was there and it cracked and moved a bit underneath her little feet and she thought this was extremely scary so she screamed in horror until I had carried her far away from it.
When I am tired at the end of a walk I usually just keep it together until I make it home. When Claire got tired on our walk this morning she became very ornery. She knew that she didn't want to walk anymore but she also knew that the walk was fun and never wanted it to end. She began whimpering and whining but when I scooped her up to carry her the rest of the way she was more than just a little angry and proceeded to cry the whole way home so that just in case the neighbours had not heard her earlier protests they would now know of her plight for sure.
A walk by myself can be nice but also a little dull at times. A walk with a toddler is full of new discoveries and brings your attention to many things you would otherwise ignore (and some things you should ignore or at least not touch). A walk with a toddler is a roller coaster of emotions, from laughing and giggling, to woofing and meowing, to crying at the top of your lungs. A walk with a toddler can be quite difficult at times but what with a toddler isn't?