My demarcation line between “baby” and “little boy” has always been toddlerhood. Toddlers are WAY bigger than babies. They’re like little people.
Well, look how far we’ve come from Tiny. This morning I found myself grunting as I heaved Destroy into his car seat – such typical mom behavior that I couldn’t even fathom a year ago. Last year, after the cause celebres arrived home, I could write a blog post with my laptop on my lap (shocking place for it, I know) and have Destroy lying on my chest – with no feelings of overcrowding or “don’t burn the baby with a hot electronic device.”
Last month the muppets got haircuts. This went surprisingly well, but I could see their baby curls fall to the floor to reveal the little men beneath them. They’re growing up so fast. Sure, they turned 1 back in May. But let’s face it – Destroy couldn’t even sit up on his own yet. And they were still technically only 9 months adjusted.
But then came the toddling.
Search started it. He pulled himself up to standing several months ago. Aww, how cute – look at my little baby exploring. Then he started cruising (walking along using the aid of the couch or his walker). At some point, he realized he could let go. And remain upright!
The walking started slowly. One foot up. One foot forward. Splat. He even decided, “Forget this nonsense. Crawling is MUCH more efficient,” for period of time. Then, with an unmistakable determination, one foot forward became one step, which became two, which became three.
He still hasn’t quite mastered the skill. Directions, for one, seem to still be a challenge. (This is not surprising given my distinct lack of geographic intelligence…) But he’s certainly progressing in steadiness.
He recently spent an entire day toddling around in circles.
At this point he would still fail any field sobriety tests in a spectacular manner. Although, in his defense, how could he touch his finger to his nose when he still isn’t quite sure exactly what a “nose” is. (It may well be that thing Daddy snatched away this morning. “I got your nose!”)
Destroy wasn’t far behind in terms of pulling himself upright. This is likely largely in part due to Destroy’s intense desires to climb things. HIGHER!!!
Our living room is blocked off by an extended length baby gate. Destroy has discovered that, not only can he pull himself up to standing, but he can then put his feet up and hang from the gate like the little monkey he is. (If you happen to stop by our place and see a huge gaping hole where you thought you’d find a baby gate…now you know why.)
Search and Destroy are in full conspiratorial mode: “I’ll go one way and you go the other! Distract her by climbing to the top of the treadmill and waving the lamp above your head! Ready, break!” (Search used his walker to cross the living room from side-to-side. Destroy’s going for the top-to-bottom route.)
Jon and I made the rookie parenting mistake of thinking we could simply put things higher. I mean, they’re two and a half feet tall. Higher should be fine right? Sure. Until they figure out that all those toys spilling out of the chest across the room can be stacked. (Apparently we got bored with simple rings and cups.) Then you can CLIMB.
Fabulous. Outsmarted by someone who can’t even walk a straight line.
Laughter, shrieks, screams and smiles – they’re no longer my babies. So now I’ve got to go see if I can catch my toddlers.