Trees

The only way I can snag photos of Louis is to catch him in the act. Lately when he "poses," he doesn't smile.

Not that I'm complaining. My camera is quick enough and I take enough photos (some might say more than enough) that we certainly have a few decent photos of our son--especially when food is involved.

 
But I had been thinking it might be time to try to get something a little nicer of Louis, who would much rather eat his vegetables, vacuum the house, and watch his father check the oil in the car than pose for a professional photo shoot.

Then Friday afternoon happened.

After leaving the office, I went to pick Louis up from his day at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and he wasn't there. I knew where to find him: hanging out at church with Grandma and Aunt Treasa. He was sitting angelically in Treasa's arms and--I noted--not singing the ABCs the way he often does when he goes to church with his parents. I scooped him up, we walked around the inside of the church, lit a couple candles, and then headed outdoors. Louis was in a fantastic--and photo-friendly--mood.

His mood only improved when he discovered the trees in front of the church.

They were just waiting for him.

And I had my camera. (I always do.)

You may be surprised that a mother who won't let her toddler into more than three inches of water would let him climb trees. But he's not actually climbing (though his father is very proud that it looks as if he is).

The best feature of this tree was that the branches were growing right out of the ground. One day maybe Louis will look at these pictures and think I wasn't over-protective. But probably not. He'll remember the truth.

Either way, Louis and I had a great time, playing peek-a-boo behind the branches. The camera missed so many fun moments, but my memories are beautifully intact. And I caught more than enough with the camera to make me happy.

Even better, Louis was happy.

After all, we were outside on an absolutely perfect afternoon. I had let him take his jacket off, and I had told him that our next stop was dinner at one of his favorite dining spots--Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Louis ran from tree to tree to tree to tree. He asked why the best sticks lying around were stuck into the ground, so I tried to explain about roots and how they work. There's nothing like becoming a parent to make you realize your lack of science knowledge.

And we know the questions will just keep coming.

Luckily there weren't any hard ones on Friday. Together, we counted the trees. Louis gave each tree trunk a pat. We picked out some great sticks and left them there for the next tree visitor.

I'll admit it. I have never particularly noticed these trees. John and I were married in this church almost six years ago. Louis was baptized there six days after we arrived home from China. But we've never paid a personal visit to the trees the way Louis did on Friday. It's hard to understand why when every tree offered a new discovery for Louis.

And, as is his nature, Louis wavered between focused, serious explorer and exuberant, playful boy.

By the time we were getting ready to leave, Louis had decided he owned the courtyard area where the trees grow. He was quite comfortable, thank you very much, and he was practically begging me to take pictures of him with the trees.

Before we knew it, though, the church bells were ringing--so loudly that Louis jumped into my arms. He had wanted to hear the bells, and I told him they would ring at 6, so we had wandered over to see the trees. But the bells were loud enough that he was content to get back into Mama's car and head over to Grandma's house for fish sticks and sweet potato fries.

As he polished off his ice cream for dessert, he was pretty happy.

And his Mama? With some photos of her smiling boy wearing an unstained, collared shirt while hanging out in trees, I didn't even question whether he needed both Old Bay and cocktail sauce on his fish sticks.

Next week, though, I'm pretty sure we'll be back to my more typical photos. Louis made that very clear this afternoon.

Good thing I had the camera on Friday.