May 25, 2010:
Andrew clapped his hands to get the youngest one's attention, "Ready to go shopping, kiddo?" About twice a week the two would go out shopping for groceries, which typically wasn't that bad of a time for either of them. To be honest, Andrew enjoyed still getting some alone time with the little tyke, which was going to change once he started pre-school in the fall.
The child looked up away from the television, "Nu-uh." He didn't remember that it was shopping day at all. He had been busy with his favorite show and playing with his toys.
The man bent down, hoping this wasn't early signs of a tantrum. "You like helping me pick out the food, right?"
"Um-huh," Toby mumbled with his finger in the corner of his mouth as he nodded slightly. "Cause we get good food."
"Then come on, get your shoe and jacket on so we can go." Andrew invited again. "If you're really good you can pick out some candy."
Toby thought about it for a moment as he looked at the toys he was just playing with, "Can I bring a toy?" The little one didn't want to leave all his friends behind, but Andrew wasn't likely to say that he could bring them all.
"I think we have room for just one extra passenger," Andrew said smiling, he always found this to be more cute than annoying. Typically they had one friend accompany them anyways. "Who are we bringing with us today?"
The boy look at all of them, his favorite was the blue dinosaur with the really long neck. Toby liked him because he looked like he was always happy. "Mr. Roar," He said confidently holding it up for his big brother to see.
"Ah, I see." Andrew reached over to tickle the boy's bare feet. "We still need to cover your feet though."
Toby giggle and crawled away, "Stop tickling me!"
"Okay, okay." The elder smiled, "But you know shoes are good protection from tickles."
Toby nodded and went looking for them by the door, "Where'd they go? Did someone take them?"
"I don't think so, why not try the backdoor, you and Oliver come in there last night." Andrew said looking for a light jacket for the child.
"O'tay," Tobias raced to the backdoor and found them. He was proud to be able to put his shoes on by himself anymore, cause he was such a big boy. But, he still got them on the wrong feet all the time.
"Kid, you need to get them on the right feet." Andrew said taking the shoe off that Toby had just put on. "Otherwise your little toes will be cramped and hurt."
Toby nodded, but it wasn't likely to change the outcome next time. "Where we goin'?"
"I'm not all that sure yet, we'll start at Wal-mart and see what we can find there." Andrew winked, "It'll be like an adventure."
The little boy was excited hearing that, even if it was just pretend. "Can there be dragons?"
Andrew laughed a bit at that and led him out to the car, "I don't think so, most people are too nice to be scary monsters. We can image that they are nice creatures though."
"Aw," Toby pouted, having wanted a really, really super awesome adventure.
"It will be fun," Andrew lightly pocked him in the nose before strapping him into the car seat. "Just wait and see."
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"Do you want to walk or ride in the cart today?" Andrew asked, hoping it would be the later. Having him ride in the cart made the whole trip so much faster.
