Leif - Hopping Up and Down in the Backpack

From the day he was born, Leif wanted to see everything. He closely observed and analyzed everything even as a baby.

I think he liked being held as much or more because he was in a position to see better as because of the closeness and affection. He would make his wishes known vociferously if he was put down and wanted to see something.

When he was old enough to sit up and they started coming up with the infant backpacks, I got this one. It was a godsend for both him and me, because he loved being up high there where he could see well and wasn't crying and clamoring for me to pick him up. However, Leif was always a big, heavy, muscular baby, and having him on my back for hours was quite a load.

He made it harder to manage by using the lower hip bar to hook his toes on so he could jump or jog up and down in the seat. Try that with a 20 pound load on your back. :)

I made many a meal with him there. Peter Anthony, and later both he and Leif, liked to help out in the kitchen occasionally, especially when I made homemade (from scratch) pancakes on Sundays. In this photo, Peter A. is helping with the pancakes and Leif is in the backpack. It was taken in May 1976 in the kitchen of the old stone house in Manhattan, Kansas.