One of Joaquin's favorite things to do at his grandma and grandpa's house is to feed the "neigh neighs" carrots or apples, or whatever treats he can find. Since he was about 11 months old, he's been obsessed with finding the nearest adult (usually it's Ta, AKA Grandpa), to take him "outside outside" to see the "neigh neighs" AKA horses. Now he knows he cannot go outside with his shoes on, so his pleas will usually start out with "We need shoes ON. Go outside." Then he'll proceed to scan the adults in the vicinity to see who is wearing shoes, then he'll decide who he's "chosen" to take him outside.
The trip from the house to the barn is not met without it's own unique challenges for a 20-month-old. First, you must make it past all 6 dogs, which usually are either blocking the pathway, eager to find someone to play ball with them, or they are already running around, creating a stampede across the walkway every 6 feet or so. So just making it past the 6 rambunctious dogs is a feat in itself.
Sometimes Ta helps navigate the sea of dogs, parting them just enough so Joaquin can pass safely and make it to the barn.
On this particular feeding of the neigh neigh trip, we gave Geoffrey, the horse, an apple instead of a carrot because we'd already given him 4 carrots that day and we thought he might want a change. Apple or carrot, I think Geoffrey is satisfied. We are always careful to hold the apple or carrot at the bottom, away from Geoffrey's eager chompers.
