Snailie
Greetings to everyone.
Today, as it has been since Friday, was all about Xavier. Tomorrow, he will be up at the crack of dawn again and handed off to one of our sitters, who watches several other children as well as her three. Dad needs to work, and there is no CDC here in Denver, and no school.
We played outside most of the day. One thing I learned from the CDC program, Xavier does very well if he gets enough exercise. He eats better, he naps better and he goes down at night better.
While outside this morning, we came across a snail. These are everywhere around here, but not so often as out in the open as this one, which is about the size of a quarter. After observing it for a while, Xavier grew excited by it.
It became like a dog to him. He started out by putting sticks in its path. When the snail slid over the stick, he leapt with excitement. The next thing to do was put in on a tree.
After the tree, he moved it to one of his wind-up trucks, a tractor. Winding up the tractor, the snail got a ride—complete with crash into the grass from the sidewalk.
Xavier put the snail everywhere, watching it crawl and glide along. It entertained him for nearly an hour. Then the greatest honor: Xavier placed "Snailie" on Lightning McQueen—Xavier's most prized toy. The snail rode in style, touring the patio and surrounding areas.
As nap time neared, we placed the snail on a tree to "let it sleep." After Xavier's nap, he went outside, excited to see his snail (that's all I heard about since he awoke). The snail was still where we placed it. "Snail sleeping, Daddy," Xavier informed me after he could not get it to move (that sucker was anchored to the tree bark something fierce).
The next day, the snail was gone. However, Xavier still tells me of the snail and asks about it.