TMI Tuesday: Walking To Daddy!

Our son has been cruising the furniture for well over a month now and he has been able to pull himself to his feet for quite a while but he has remained hesitant to walk on his own. In May he finally got the courage to take a step or two from the table to the couch. Of course, we helped him a bit by spreading them apart. And, soon after, he was confident enough to hold my hand and make his way across the play room with his irregular gait.

All of that changed a couple of weeks ago when I was walking our son to the kitchen. He had been strangling our fingers for a couple of weeks as his off balance sway staggered his steps but, this time, he had a loose grip on my index finger as we made our way across the room. When we turned the corner behind the couch, he let go and with both hands in the air took five or six steps all by himself before falling to his bottom with an audible thump.

Last week, having cancelled my plans for the evening to spend the night with my family, we were all sitting in the play room when our son decided to crawl over to the family room. This was nothing unusual as he likes to scurry about the house. However, this time was different, this time he was determined to walk. As he cruised along the chair and back into our view he had a wide smile on his face with a light chuckle echoing across the room.

This is when he let go of the chair and slowly made his way, step after step, across the room and into my arms. After an excited laugh and happy hug, he turned around and made his way back to the chair to repeat the same milestone again and again over the next twenty minutes. Each time he is getting a little better, a little steadier, and a little faster. And now he is even able to catch himself when he gets a little off balance and he can even turn around and change directions when the mood strikes him. Of course, some of those detours and changes in direction aren’t completely voluntary.

He is now comfortable walking both at home and while we are exploring a new place. It is actually pretty entertaining watching him push his own stroller down the sidewalk. He is gaining more and more confidence each time that he is on his feet and he enjoys practicing as much as possible leaving no opportunity lost to walk across the room, down the sidewalk, or around the property. All the while with the same wide smile across his face that we saw with that initial voyage across the room.

First Trip To Lancaster County

We were finally able to take advantage of not having to be anywhere today. It had been some time since our son had an opportunity to play with his cousins, nearly a month in fact, so earlier in the week we coordinated with my sister to bring our son over to her house for the first time. It actually wasn’t a bad ride from our place into the heart of Lancaster County and our son was able to sleep for a few minutes right before our arrival. We got there around noon and almost immediately our little boy was looking around at this new place wondering where the heck we were.

Soon after we pulled in and as I was giving my brother-in-law a quick tour of the new car, my sister pulled into the driveway and started unpacking the groceries. It didn’t take long for my niece to climb out of the passenger seat and start doting over her baby cousin. It is great to watch the connection that the two of them have. My niece can’t seem to get enough of him and our son just keeps smiling whenever they are playing.

Spending the day with family was good for all of us. It got our son out of the house (he prefers being out and about as opposed to relaxing at home), it got us out of the house, and it afforded us an opportunity to catch up with family. We all have a lot going on right now and sometimes phone calls and text messages can only cover so much. It was also good because my wife and I could go do our separate things while we were there. She was able to sit and talk while my sister and niece watched our son, and I was able to help with putting up a gate outside.

While we did a few things separately we also came together to watch the kids on the swing, play some tetherball, and relaxing in the warm summer sunset. By the time we sat down for dinner we were amazed at how fast the day had drifted by. We were all getting a little tired and so we got back on the road almost eight hours after we arrived. It wasn’t long before our son was sleeping and we were back at the house putting him in bed. Of course, one we put him upstairs it hit us just how much work we still have to do at the house. Another project for another day.

Looking Back On The Last 2 Months

It is hard to believe that it has already been two months (and a day) since our son was born. There have been a lot of changes that have occurred, both for better and worse, with each of them bringing us to this point, two months later. While there is still a little disbelief in our eyes when we watch him sleep, my wife and I are enjoying this new phase in our life (even if we don’t readily admit it when our baby is screaming in the middle of the night).

The memories are still so vivid going all the way back to the moment when we found out about our pending arrival. Each and every moment we will carry with us: the reactions when we told our parents, the first time we saw him on the ultrasound, the first time he breathed the same air as us, and all the details surrounding each of those moments and days. We will never forget them.

All of the tiring and trying moments seem to have faded leaving just those moments that remain seared into our memory: his first smile, the first time he found his thumb, the first time that he cooed at us, the first time he rolled over, his first car ride, and countless other moments. These are the times when I don’t need a picture to see his smile and I don’t need a recording to hear his coo. They are forever carried with us so that we can look back at the cuteness when he gets older.

It hasn’t been an easy couple of months but seeing him grow and slowly become more aware of his surroundings is something that I can’t really describe… all the parents reading this know what I am talking about. And the love that you have for your child is something that remains indescribable as well. There are already so many great moments and memories to look back on and so many things that we are looking forward to. Before we know it, they will all be memories.  

While time has flown as our baby had grown, we remember each time he grew just a little bit. Now he is nearly 12 pounds and will soon be too big for the bassinette. It will be another interesting adjustment for us not having him beside the bed. But it is also going to be another memory to look back on… the look of a peaceful sleep that occurs when he doesn’t have to listen to daddy snoring on the other side of the room.