I hate our library on post. They have the worst fiction section I've ever seen, unfriendly librarians, and no board books in the children's section. In fact I have not found a library within thirty minutes of us that does have board books. Can you believe that?

Anyway, the library is not my favorite place to take Ben. He doesn't like his stroller, he's loud, and it's just not a child-friendly place. That said, I've found it easier to go once or twice a week and just stay for a very short period of time instead of trying to keep him occupied for a lengthy browsing.

I was there yesterday and within moments of being buckled in he was unhappy. So I'm hurrying along giving him various non-toy items to play with and picking them up after he has flung them to the floor. When I was in the last aisle I set him free by one of those round wheelie step stools thinking he'd just bang on it or push the stroller up and down the aisle.

He bangs on it. Once. And then is off. He runs to the end of the aisle flapping his arms like a miniature maniac. He sees a poster hanging on a short of a squirrel reading a book. He finds this hysterical. He runs up to it and starts patting the squirrel and giggling. Adorable. My baby is adorable.

Then he turns, takes a few steps back into the aisle with me looks at a shelf full of books, put his arms out and shoves. Hard. Hard enough that he pushes the books on our side through the other side of the shelves since there's no back on the shelves and the books on our side hit the books on the other side and they all go banging to the floor. This is less than adorable.

"BEN!!"

"Uh-oh."

So now I have to pick up the books on this side, pick up the books on the other side and get them all back on the shelf. Ben is just standing by me now patting his belly (congratulating himself on a job well done?). He definitely has to go back in the stroller or I'll never keep him wrangled and get the books back up. I'm anticipating picking the books up while he's screaming from his stroller.

But no. I buckle him in and he's absolutely quiet and good. I guess once that overwhelming toddler urge to destroy something is satisified that there's a lull before the next one comes along. I made good use of that time to get the books back on the shelves and make a somewhat dignified escape from the library.

I'd like to say that I put all those books back right where the belonged and sorted out which side of the shelves that they fell off and that I whipped out my little Dewey Decimal system chart and filed them all exactly back into place, but I didn't. I got them off the floor and that was good enough for me.

I told you I didn't like the librarians. Maybe next time I'll let him push off every book in the place. :)