Stroller, No Bye-Bye

I've written before about Munch's obsession with some household appliances and "toys that aren't toys." 

• He loves to open and shut the microwave (we put the kibosh on that some months ago).
• He exclaims OOOOOOOO whenever the refrigerator opens (I think it's the dizzying array of colorful items right at his eye level, ripe for the picking). And he carries around the spray butter a LOT.
• He pushes the buttons on the washing machine, which isn't an issue until he hits the power button in the middle of the cycle and suddenly the water drains out and all needs to start over.
• He's desperately in love with the vacuum.
• He will sit in the front seat of the car and "drive" for as long as we'll let him. (Hubs stood out in the cold for 45 minutes a couple weeks ago, because of course Munch won't "allow" a passenger.)
• Remotes and cell phones go without saying.
• The sink, my goodness, the sink--another source for hours of playing. 
• Lamps. 
• The portable phone base.
• Don't even mention the computer.

And, his dear beloved, the stroller.

The stroller, which cannot be seen without Munch desperately crying to play with it--and by play I mean (best case scenario) walking next to it while holding the side or (worse case scenario) being held by mommy or daddy behind the stroller and actually "pushing" it on his own--has been banished to the trunk of Daddy's car for nearly 6 months--we really haven't used it since returning from Disney, where we barely used the thing because it was so meltdown-inducing, for us, my mother, and him.

Well, Sunday was a GORGEOUS day, and we wanted to take a walk. Munch is fun to walk with, but of course at this age and length of his legs, we don't get very far. So, we took a chance and broke out the beloved. Munch was SO happy to see the stroller. He sat in it just fine and ate his fish and puffs as we rolled around.

When it was time to be done, we took him out and he immediately grabbed the side and looked at me like, let's walk. So, we walked around and around with Munch walking next to the stroller, periodically stopping to check the wheels. We did this for about a half hour.

And Munch just babbled away as he walked. He started saying, "Stroller, no bye-bye" and my heart just about oozed out of my chest. I think he was so excited that the stroller was PRESENT, HERE, UNDER HIS HAND, that he just couldn't contain himself. After months of "Stroller, bye-bye," it had re-emerged.

I hope he dreamed about it that night. And may we all find such happiness in the smallest things.