You know you've tapped your red heels when...

We've had a lot of "we're not in New York Anymore" moments so far.  And it is certainly reminding me that my son is, thus far, a native New Yorker, not a Kansan.

Like when we were driving down the street and P piped up from the back booster seat, "Don't they have sidewalks around here?"

Or when we went to the absolutely, positively most ginormous grocery store known to mankind and found this:

After the teensy, tiny, crowded shops in New York, we were goofy-giddy in this grocery store.  E and I laughed so hard (silently, of course, lest the child fix us with his death glare for feeling commented upon:) as the child screeched his way through the enormous and empty aisles.  We were only buying matches, but that didn't stop us from pushing our put-put cart miles, to much glee from the tot.  

There are also lots of bugs.   Not just cockroaches and fruit flies :)  And, thus, the child's nature shelf grows every day.  His dead bug collection has reached new heights...

Cicada shells jet to join dragon fly bodies, lady bug remains and wasp wings.

And then there's the John Deere itself.  The property is huge and the child loves to, very seriously, drive his vehicle to his next destination.  He, adamantly, attempts to give everyone rides.   I love watching how seriously he takes his driving responsibilities :)

The joy of harvesting is huge, too:

Then there's the wildlife, on the way to the market...

And then there are the endless experiments, not as readily doable in an urban setting.  Like, attempting to fry eggs on the sidewalk (er, driveway, but we already mentioned the shortage of sidewalks, so...)  P read a book months ago that inspired this and then remembered his grand country plans last week.  And, no, it was not hot enough :)

It is so much fun experiencing various moments of culture shock in my home-town through my kid's eyes.  And just seeing the things most rural and suburban kids take for granted as these great gifts.  He is loving the s-p-a-c-e here and the chance to sing loudly and run and bounce above absolutely no one at all.  He has no interest in leaving the property.  Yet, if he must, he declares how much he loves cars, not subways.  And, when asked if he was missing his house or New York, he instantly replied, "Nope!"   So, it might be different, but it looks to have been an easy transition for the kid :)