Look, Mom!

Charlotte building while standing!

I might be wrong about this, but I am pretty sure my heart is going to explode with pride. There is something about watching your child begin to learn that makes the teacher in me do mini freeze frame jumps for joy in the air. It happens around 9 months or so, the wheels begin to turn: I tell her to come here and she does, she can even give me a kiss! I ask her if she wants more and she gives me the baby sign for more, which to the untrained eye looks like clapping. That’s a separate request and you have to say, “Yay!” or clap yourself. Is there anything more comical than having a room full of college educated adults clapping for no reason other than to watch a baby put her hands together repeatedly? This is how we will be spending our holidays.

I was never fanatical about Charlotte learning how to crawl. I was excited sure and I lost 5 pounds within the first 10 days, but I knew it meant she’d have virtually unlimited access to all things. Now that we’ve reached the mobility stage and there are no boundaries, I’m eager for her to start walking. Something about her graduating into bipedalism will transform her into an actual little person. As with all things related to parenting there can be no rushing these things. There are no tricks or devices that can speed this process up. It is the first of many times our children get to decide when they are ready and to remind us that, just in case we forgot, we have absolutely no control whatsoever. So while they are learning to talk the talk and walk the walk it is our job to simply put our hands together.