Last week, I shared our experience taking our little guy out for one of his first family outings.
And we’re doing more of that.
This time, we took him to the pumpkin patch.
Pumpkins, farm animals, a corn maze, the beautiful changing leaves and trees all around.
Just a simple fall afternoon with the family.
And as we're slowly learning, going anywhere with a baby is never quite as simple as it sounds.
The stroller wasn't cutting it this time.
We brought it thinking he'd enjoy being pushed around like last time
Nope!
He wasn't having it.
So my wife ended up carrying him in the Momcozy carrier for almost the entire outing.
It was pretty chilly, too, so being glued to Mom probably felt like the best place in the world.
Warm, comfortable, and close to his bestie.
But as we walked around, I noticed something interesting.
He seemed genuinely curious about everything around him.
The people walking by. The corn maze. The animals in the distance… although he can’t see that far. I’m sure he sees blurred moving shapes.
And whether his sense of smell was developed enough to pick up on that distinct farm animal smell? Who knows.
But he was taking it all in.
Or at least trying to.
It felt like he didn't just want to be outside.
He wanted to experience what we were experiencing.
Not lying back in his stroller looking up.
He wanted to be held upright, close to us, seeing the world from where we stood.
Sometimes it's the simplest things.
As adults, we tend to overlook so much of what's around us.
A pumpkin patch is just a pumpkin patch.
We've seen pumpkins. We've walked through corn mazes. We've been around farm animals.
Nothing particularly new.
But for him?
This is all brand new.
Heck everything is all brand new.
Every sound, movement, face, and change of scenery is something he's still figuring out.
And watching him experience these things, even at such a young age, has started changing how I experience them, too.
I'm paying attention to things I probably would’ve taken for granted or ignored given I’ve experienced it many times.
All because I'm wondering what he's noticing.
It's a pretty cool.
We're getting better at this. Slowly.
Another thing that stood out was this time, we packed lighter.
We're starting to figure out what we actually need to bring instead of preparing for every possible scenario.
We're also getting a better feel for what he likes and doesn't like.
Clearly, the stroller wasn't winning any points that day.
And there were still fussy moments.
But I think the biggest difference was us.
We weren't as stressed.
We adjusted, kept moving, and enjoyed ourselves.
We're not suddenly experts at this parenting thing. Far from it.
But every time we get out, we learn something.
These are the moments I want to remember.
We've been trying to record and document these little family adventures.
The fussiness. The unexpected changes. The moments where something as simple as walking through a pumpkin patch becomes a whole production.
Because one day, he won't need us to carry him around like this.
He'll be running through that corn maze himself.
Going down the zip-lines and jumping on the inflatables.
Probably running in a completely different direction than the one we're trying to go.
And I'll probably look back at these videos and remember when all he wanted was to be held close enough to see the world with us.
The Dad Truth:
One day, your kid won't need you to carry him everywhere.
Right now, it's easy to focus on the inconvenience.
The stroller he refuses to sit in. The plans that change. The extra effort it takes just to get out of the house.
But at this stage, you're more than just the person carrying him.
You're his comfort when things feel unfamiliar.
You’re his safe space.
There will come a day when he'll want to explore it on his own.
So while they still reach for you, hold them.
Not because every moment needs to be special.
But because even the ordinary ones won't last forever.
Until the next one dads,
John Guevara