The Zoo and a Backbone

Wyatt and I visited the Charles Paddock Zoo this morning and enjoyed a sunny day observing interesting animals. I've been getting to know Wyatt in some new ways lately. I don't know if it's him becoming more of himself or if it's me paying more attention, but either way, it's made it a lot of fun to be with him.
This was our first trip to the zoo without a stroller. We held hands walking through the front gate and made our way to the large cage housing a tiger. He held my hand tightly and walked forward gingerly. He paused, observed for quite awhile, and then wanted to walk to another area. As we got closer to the loud birds, he squeezed my hand, and walked very close to my thigh, trying to hide his head behind my leg. When we finally got up close to the birds, he watched, mouth agape, and stood still.
Wyatt is a cautious boy who soaks in the world around him before diving in to participate in it. My natural tendency is to jump in head first and, on a good day, ask questions later. This has it's perks but also some downsides that show up in the form of lack of follow through and impatience. I have a lot to learn from him and the time he takes to observe and learn.
In other news, Wyatt is recovering from a bad case of RSV and a double ear infection. He ran a 102-103 fever for seven days and had little to no appetite the entire time. Yesterday he leaned over on the couch to reach for a book and I saw the outline of his little backbone peeking out from below his shirt. I don't think we've seen his backbone since he was about four months old and on the skinny side. If only I could contract an appetite-inhibiting illness...