Sunday with William

William and I spent the day together on Sunday while my girlfriend made it through her first real day of her new job. I have talked about similar situations as this many a time, so I will stick with the highlights rather than an in depth look on the day as a whole.

Our day took us first to the mall, one of the few locations open at 9:40 on a Sunday morning. When we crossed the street, after stopping and looking both ways in an exaggerated manner so he learns at least to stop before going out even if he doesn't grasp why, we found our way to the mall entrance. I pointed straight ahead, at the handicap buttons that open the door. I've found the best way to get William to move in a certain direction is to give him something fun to do wherever I need him to go, and buttons fit the bill. A call of "Go get the button" followed my finger and he dashed for it, or waddled, dashing is not a skill he has quite mastered. Pushing all the buttons we found our way inside and William began to run again, cries of "Go, go, go, go, go!" echoing through the quiet mall. I caught up and we ran together, yelling "Go, go, go, go, go!" Every so often and laughing as we made out way through the mall.

We made our way to Books-A-Million, where I decided to choose my horse after Borders died. At borders there are giant steps inside for children to sit during story time, and they are one of William's favorite places to climb. Usually he and I find ourselves alone at the top, that is, I find myself alone at the top reading aloud a Dr. Seuss book as he explores each and every step. Sunday was different. A little girl was hiding stuffed animals under a blanket, the blanket itself unable to contain the pile any longer. Her mother came up to her and asked about the animals, sparking the reply of "What's he doing here!" from the girl, pointing at William in a means to move blame or something. Either way she falls under the category of snitch, which I have told my feelings towards earlier. Her mom simply said "Climbing, just like you." At this attention William's face lit up and he took a step towards the girl, invoking a surprised leap of fear backwards from the girl. It was as if William was a monster set on ruining her good time.

After the mall I took William to a McDonalds with a play place. I bought a sweet tea, but nothing more. My girlfriend and I don't give William McDonalds if we can help it, and on a day with so much time I was able to get him something much better beforehand. The sweet tea was merely so they'd allow us to stay and play. A birthday party was going on and I didn't want William to stay long, but if I had left with him then he would have whined about going in and out of the car, and I felt this unfair. I let him play and he did surprisingly well for the time we were there. As the kids began to play hide and seek William's curiosity peaked. He watched as a little girl counted to ten and ran after the other kids. In her absence William went to where she had been, squatted and began to count the best he could. It was perhaps the most adorable moment of the day.

Our day ended at Target, where we bought flowers and a snack for my girlfriend. As we began to walk towards the store William eyed a tow truck. I let him lead the way and we stopped next to it and watched it pull the car aboard. William stood dumfounded, having found a real life robot.

We were barely at the entrance when William eyed the giant red balls in front of Target. Having an obsession with anything round he went over (With cries of "Go, go, go, go, go") and attempted to roll them. I followed and tried to help him. By the end of it we had attempted to roll every immovable sphere in front of target.