He walks

As of this morning I'd hoped to get a short blog entry up today based on E's breakfast antics. Then his lunch shenanigans trumped this morning's behavior so I felt I should record that also. Little E decided to really make today a red letter day though. He spent the last 15 minutes before bed walking around the living room.

Until today he'd taken no more than 5 steps in a row and he really didn't attempt solo steps that often. E is certainly an ace at cruising, having been walking while holding on to furniture for several months. He had a great bit of stamina too; two days ago he walked a solid city block holding onto only one of my fingers.

Today he walked, repeatedly, half-way across the living room! This makes for a good 12 steps or so, maybe about 7 feet. (One can only get half-way before running into some piece of furniture in our overly packed living room).

He will now be more mobile than ever. We are not ready. I planned ahead by getting him shoes that squeak so we'll be able to hear him coming (or going) but our house, our outings, our cat must all be in for some changes.

I imagine all new walkers have a similar gait but watching E totter along is both exhilarating and terrifying. Each step is so deliberate and the outcome so uncertain. He can walk. He will fall. Often. I am seriously considering padding the child in nerf for the next few weeks (months?).

The catch-22 of a new walker extends beyond the inevitable bumps and bruises. We are happy little E is developing on target but, and you may have noticed this in the last few posts, I am sad that his baby days were so fleeting. Just one year ago my little peanut had no idea that he could control those kicking appendages.

As for his meal time antics; little E is rapidly developing opinions and negotiating tactics. At breakfast he made it clear that toast and goat cheese are no longer to be on the menu. It's not the first time he's balked at this previous favorite but today he took every last piece of toast from his tray and relegated them to the cup holder. Then he forcefully gave the all-done signal. He was all too happy to continue eating blueberries and banana; he was just ALL DONE with toast.

Lunch was the reverse. I had a peach on the table, for E and I to share, once he had finished his beef stew. He did eat a good helping of the stew but kept pointing at peach. Finally, he could wait no longer and refused to open his mouth for the stew. Fine, I thought, he'd eaten enough stew. I cut up the peach and gave him some. Ok. For a bit.

Turns out, I wasn't giving him the peach in the manner he wanted it. He wanted strips of peach not bite size pieces. He also wanted to jam the strips in his mouth, not take appropriately sized bites.

This kid can turn on the water works at the drop of a hat. It turns out he has quite a temper. I'm not sure where he gets that from. It must have skipped a generation.

So, I've got a wobbly, tantrum-throwing, wild-grinning, opinionated toddler on my hands. He also thinks "NO" is a very funny word.

The honeymoon is over.