My Best Birthday Gift

If you’ve been a follower of my blog – and my life – you know that it’s been driving me simply MAD that my son refuses to walk.

In fact, I posted way back in June my theory that he was totally messing with me and was actually a walking master… as long as I wasn’t looking.

My emotions on the lack o’ walking went careening from “oh it will happen when it happens” to “holy poop on a cracker, this kid HAS to walk soon because it’s like carrying a 30 pound purse everywhere!” Oh, and add in a little bit of, “if I see one more tiny 7 month old girl walking like a champ I’m going to freak the frack out!!”

So yeah, I was handling it pretty well.

At our 18 month check up with the pediatrician, she determined that he was ready to walk at any time and there wasn’t anything wrong with him. So, I tried to chill out a little (yeah right) and just give it time.

Which is why I was unimpressed when my mom called me last Thursday to say Jack walked 8 steps at her house. I mean, the little booger has been faking us out for MONTHS! He runs like an Olympian as long as his hand is grazing furniture and would even do a crazy stumbling walk between obstacles. Eight steps…? Eh. Maybe he was just falling from one thing to another.

So when Travis brought Jack home (with beautiful roses in hand) on Thursday night, I was just a teeny bit hopeful. And then this happened…

He WALKS! HE WALKS!

My 19 month old son FINALLY WALKS! And he decided to bust out his mad walking skillz ON MY BIRTHDAY!

Can you sense my excitement from my abundance of capital letters? Because it was all I could do to keep from bursting into happy momma tears!

Part of me was afraid to acknowledge (or announce) the walking. Like maybe the moment I finally took a deep breath of relief that it had finally happened, he’d decide to go back to crawling. I mean, I obviously immediately posted it on Facebook like a good blogger. I’m just saying I felt like knocking on wood when I did it (that works, right?).

Luckily Jack has decided that walking is what the cool kids are doing and has been getting better and better at it over the last few days. Well, maybe not better AND better at it… he still walks like a drunken monkey, but he’s WALKING!

Contrary to popular belief, Jack walking has not made my life more difficult. And by ‘popular belief’ I mean pretty much every parent out there who has been very sweet in telling me to enjoy the crawling stage while it’s happening. I did enjoy it… for over a YEAR.

What’s funny is that I’m actually finding life easier with a walking toddler. Instead of me hefting his solidness everywhere, he’s pretty content to walk from place to place holding onto my finger. Also, it makes playtime at the park much more fun!

So yes, my kid finally walks and it was pretty much the best birthday present I’ve ever received.

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The Walking Conundrum

walk with chair
Apparently shoving chairs around the kitchen is MUCH MORE FUN that using his actual walking toy.

I think we have a problem.
It seems as if my kid might be as stubborn as I am.

Jack is 16 months old and STILL doesn’t walk. He creeps like a champ holding onto furniture, walls, people, and walking toys. But darn if he won’t just LET GO and walk on his own.

I’m pretty sure he’s doing it to spite me.

I think he CAN walk, but just chooses not to. That’s right, he probably breaks into funky dances the moment that I’m looking away, but as long as anyone is staring right at him he pretends that crawling is where it’s at.

Maybe he overheard me smugly saying what a “laid back mommy” I’ve been so far and decided to mess with my head.* You know, just to make sure everyone knows that he’s the boss.

image
Hey kid, these boots are made for WALKING. (Actually, I took this picture so I could send it to my brother and husband with the caption, “Pulling. It. Off.”)

So it seems that not only has my son trained me to hand over a bit of whatever food I’m eating when he yells “MORE,” but he’s also making me carry around his 25 pounds of butterball-ness because he thinks it’s funny.

Awesome.

He’s not only as stubborn as me, but he has my sense of humor too.

I’m screwed.

*Yes, I know he was a preemie and I’m supposed to count back two months when comparing him to other kids. And yes, I know that you’re not supposed to even compare kids anyways because they’re all different. But COME ON… you’d be worrying too, right?!

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