A New Perspective

Today we took Daniel to the King of Prussia mall. After brunch at the Cheesecake Factory, we decided to spend some time wandering around the Court. This served two purposes: we could walk off some of our heavy meal, and Daniel could stretch his legs and move around. Typically, when I take Daniel to the mall, he rides in his umbrella stroller. It allows me to complete my shopping agenda more quickly, and saves me the trouble of having to chase Daniel in and out of stores as he runs around like a monkey in a banana factory! But today was different. With both Mommy and Daddy to keep an eye on him, Daniel was permitted to walk on his own -- stroller free! He was completely awe-struck. He didn't know what to look at first. You wouldn't think the view would be that much different than the one from the comfort of his stroller, but I could tell that this was a new experience for him.

One of the highlights of Daniel's stroll around the mall was the giant Christmas display (still up on January 4th, mind you). There was an enormously tall pine tree, decorated with rocking horses, toy soldiers, and child-sized trains. The piped-in music made the display really come to life. Daniel approached the tree with a mixture of hesitation and amazement. He gazed up at the life-sized toys and swayed along with the music. It was like nothing he had ever seen before (certainly not in our house)!

Once we coerced Daniel away from the Christmas display, he continued to find objects of interest everywhere. He pointed to plants, lights, kiosks, even benches and trash cans. It was like he wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything! He even got to ride on the escalator a couple of times (with Peter standing behind him, holding both of his hands -- don't worry). He laughed every time he stepped on or off the moving staircase. At one point, I commented, "Isn't this a fun ride?" Peter responded, "Yes -- You don't have to wait in line and it's free!" That pretty much summed up our morning at the mall. No bells and whistles, no museum exhibits, no real plans -- just the three of us, strolling around on a Sunday morning. We had nowhere to be but together.