I think it’s safe to say my baby is now a toddler. For the last few weeks he has steadily been improving his walking skills. At one point he was very comically using whichever mode of transportation was most convenient. If he had pulled to a stand to play then he would begin walking from there until he fell on his butt. At that point, he would start crawling. To our amusement, if Reed was laying on his back, he would push with his heels until he was scooting around the hardwood. Flat on his back, propelled only by his feet and the most serious face you could imagine, he would scoot his way to his destination. Check out the youtube video on my channel. It’s hilarious.
This past week, Reed has really started to rely on walking to get anywhere. Even when he’s tired and he only makes it a couple steps at a time, he will push his butt up into the air, and get himself to a standing position to take two more steps before thumping back down to the floor. Last week, if he hit the floor, he would just stay there so he could get where he’s going quicker. Now he’s determined to master his steps and walk like a big boy. He also has a new challenge he’s trying to conquer. In our house, where the living room and the kitchen meet, the floor goes from hardwood to tile. The hardwood actually slopes down to meet the tile and creates quite the literal stumbling block for a toddler. Last weekend, I watched as my friend Melissa’s son, Ty, did a face plant as he ran through the house. Luckily, at that age they just bounce right back up with a questioning glance to mom, “am I okay?” Reed finds this little slope about as stimulating as a roller coaster. Up goes his butt, he pushes the floor with his hands until he’s at a stand and heads towards the kitchen tile. As he unsteadily tries to navigate down the slope, he inevitably falls and with that rush of adrenaline the first thing he does is turn around and push himself back up to his feet to try it the other way! And he toddles back and forth, one foot at a time up the hardwood slope (a slow process) and we’re cheering him on, because we just know he can do this. His toes curl under for balance and traction – his arms are out for balance as well, the left is to the side and the right is up almost over his head until… thump. Back to square one. He continues to do this until he can no longer stand. Or until he sees the football and decides it’s time for a little game of catch.
Speaking of balls, we usually toss all of them into his pack ‘n play in the living room when Reed’s not playing with them. He has a few racquet balls, a red and blue Giants football, a mini Chesapeake football, a mini soccer ball, a large green bouncy ball and a blue knobby “gerdy” ball. All together this becomes his personal ball pit. The other day it looked like Reed was trying to climb into the pack ‘n play. He can almost do a pull up on the edge and he can get both feet off the floor, so I picked him up and tossed him into the ball pit. 45 minutes he spent in complete paradise. I got the dishes done, changed the laundry, packed up for our trip this weekend (Branson MO) and didn’t have to worry about him in the least! Every time I walked by him, his face was covered in smiles and he was throwing himself all around the pack ‘n play laughing! When Mike got home he was able to witness the last 10 to 15 minutes and by the time we got him out of there he was so sweaty that his clothes were damp! We were both cracking up.
As I mentioned, we have a big trip planned this weekend with Mike’s old gang. We’re meeting up with his parents, his brother’s family, the Fousts and the Cissells. It will be great to see these guys again, we always have entirely too much fun, but I wonder how much will change now that we’re all parents and have the little ones running around. As I’ve heard said this week, that’s what Grandparents are for, right?
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