We started our week with a visit to Safety Stop, a neat service offered by St. Louis Children’s Hospital, providing nearly at-cost pricing on a variety of safety equipment for infants and children, including bike helmets and car seats.
Over the past year, someone outgrew his first bicycle helmet (also purchased at Safety Stop). We’ve been squeezing into that helmet for the past couple of months — definitely time for an upgrade.
Given the option of bus or bike, I chose bus in the heat. We walked to the bus stop down the street and waited for our bus (Sir likes to sit on the bus stop bench even when we’re not waiting for a bus).
Twenty minutes later (wait plus transit time), we arrived within a couple of blocks of our destination with plenty of time to spare. I chose the walking route that took us by the pond and rain garden feature on the WashU medical campus, not knowing that a treat was in store.
Against all odds, a mother duck picked this very public location to nest and hatch six adorable fuzzy ducklings. The lily pads were in bloom, adding to the lovely scenery. We never would have seen this if we drove our car.
Sir enjoyed seeing the ducks (and the incoming helicopter) before we continued on to the appointment. This location of Safety Stop is housed in a parking garage, so walking there felt a bit weird (but fun!).
They outfitted Sir in a youth size small helmet. It seems ridiculously huge, but it fits him dialed down to the smallest setting, which also means it has room for him to grow.
Monday night I biked to the nearest Red Box location to grab a movie. It was our first time using the service, and we’ll definitely be repeat customers (though perhaps not as frequently as if there were one just a bit closer, say within a two or three block walk, as opposed to a mile bike ride).
Tuesday morning I ran a bunch of errands by bike (Sir was with Baba — I generally avoid multi-stop bike errands with him, since getting him in and out of the bike seat and helmet is a bit of a pain in the rear), including picking up some drugs for Matthew and joining a new gym (more on that in a future post).
Wednesday afternoon I lucked out when the bed railings I’d been looking at on Craigslist were located less than a mile from us. I hitched up the trailer and headed over.
I used a few bungee cords to secure (I use the word loosely) the railings in the trailer. It worked well enough for a short distance, low speed ride.
The railings are one more item on the list of things we need before transitioning Sir to a “big boy bed,” an event which is now imminent.
We bought a mattress for him back in January, and I’ve been stalling ever since. I mean, once you let them out of the cage crib, there’s no going back, right? Why rush it?
He hasn’t done anything crazy, like launch himself out of his Pack ‘n Play yet, but he’s definitely tall enough for that to be a risk. He’s now officially over both the recommended height and weight limits, so it’s probably not the most comfortable place anymore.
We’re just waiting on the foundation and frame (which I will not be picking up by bike), and then it’s go time.
My rides this week were all fairly short, and, except for the bed railing pick-up, all before ten in the morning or after seven at night, but definitely hot, humid, and sweaty for all of that. So goes summer biking — I’d still rather do it than not!
