First visit to the “zoo”
On Saturday, while in the middle of errands, 
helloheather and I stopped off with Nathan at the local PetSmart (tm). It's something I've wanted to do for a while now but kept forgetting or running out of time.
Because it was a Saturday, there were many dog owners (and their dogs) in the store. This, of course, leads immediately to problems with dogs reacting violently to the presence of other dogs. Not all, of course, but those that do are very vocal about it.
So, seeing Nathan's initial shock of walking into the canine version of Fight Club, we headed over to the fish tanks. He was fascinated with them to say the least, especially when we went over to the tanks full of goldfish. So many small shapes shimmering and moving, sometimes as a group and others seemingly in chaos is enough to attract anyones attention, let alone Nathan's. After spending some time there, we headed over to the section of birds where parakeets and finches fluttered and squawked. We were treated to a similar reaction of wonderment, and even a little surprise when a couple of the birds flew and landed on the wires of the cage a few inches from his face.
It seems like such a silly small thing but to me it was such a joy to be able to do. I feel this overwhelming responsibility to introduce the world to Nathan. Even though he doesn't comprehend what he sees, that he's able to show interest and enjoyment at observing The New fills me with happiness.