I love taking my son out and about. Yesterday, we went down to Old Montreal to pick up Steve from work, and then downtown to a bookstore. Because we weren't going on a long expedition, Steve carried him around. Ben starts rocking excitedly when you walk with him outside. He loves looking at the people, and the buildings, and just everything. He likes it when Steve carries him even more because he has a higher perspective. So, he rocks, he smiles and he laughs, but what I really get a kick out of is all the attention he receives. He seems to know just who will make a big fuss over him. He loves women, but he'll also single out the men who will make funny faces and stick out their tongues. I guess that it's hard to turn down a face as cute as this:

Sometimes he chooses the most unlikely people, biker guys, rigid businessmen, or teenage boys. He almost always gets a positive response for his troubles. I know that at some point I am going to have to teach Ben about strangers, but it breaks my heart to think that one day he's going to have to know that there are bad people and dangers in this world. Every parent in the world must feel this way.