late afternoon outing

the other day, on a walk in our neighborhood, i tried to let caleb down on the grass, and discovered that his irrational fear of grass had returned. i decided i needed to get him into the big outside more often. our walks, which had been occurring twice a day at one point, had diminished to once or twice a week, if that, and i'm not really sure why, but clearly, caleb needs to get out more often. i actually feel a little guilty, i know he likes the outside, and even spends a good part of every morning sitting at one door or the other gazing out at all the excitement going on, whether it's the dog saying hello or a stray leaf blowing by.
so today we set out for little picnic in one of the nice green patches in our neighborhood. i packed a snack for both of us, a blanket, a few toys, and of course, the camera. we sat on our little island of blanket in a sea of grass, enjoying the breeze, some cheese, and a stray pretzel nabbed while mommy was changing camera settings.
i sat back and waited, and eventually, caleb became bold enough to start reaching for the grass.

he never got further than touching the grass lightly with his hand, but it was a start. it was a beautiful day, which only made me feel more foolish for not getting out more often. i really have to remind myself that in all likelihood, we have less than a year left to live here, and that i need to start really making the most of it.
we had a great time, though it did make me a little sad, because our friends, B and her baby, were with us the last time we picnicked at this spot. we miss you guys!