It's been a busy month for Daniel too, as we hit a major milestone. He's always been a very active little boy and lately has taken to climbing on anything and everything he can. So it was only a matter of time until this happened a few weeks ago:
From those first steps he has gotten steadier and faster, and now he walks almost everywhere inside the house, though he still does some crawling too. Needless to say we're all very excited about this new development, no one more so than Daniel himself. He's so proud of himself.
As for that other big milestone, talking, we've had some exciting developments there too. He says "mama" and "dada" a lot, and at least much of the time he seems to be saying it to us. He's been making a cute new noise the past few days that kind of sounds like a mix of "brr" and "go." He has a lot to say...I'm sure soon we'll be able to understand him!
No big developments on the eating and sleeping fronts. He sleeps about 10 hours a night and then naps 2-3 hours almost every afternoon. He seems happy and well-rested through the day, so this seems to be a good amount of sleep for him. He's still a voracious eater and has developed quite the Buddha belly as a result (though we'll see at his checkup in a few weeks whether that translates to much weight gain). He still nurses pretty enthusiastically. Funny, people warn you to watch our for biting (which he doesn't do), but no one tells you that your nursing toddler will kick you in the face, gouge your eyes, and pull your hair while he nurses. But worse than those are when he tickles me. Not on purpose, I don't think, but those little fingers manage to find their way to the underarms and it's all I can do not to laugh and squirm away. Those hazards aside though, nursing has been a nice way for us to reconnect and bond on the days I'm working so many hours.
Run Mommy run!
After years of wanting to do it, I decided this was the year to tackle my first half-marathon, so I signed up for the Dallas White Rock half-marathon. I've always admired the people who do endurance events and looking around at my friends who've done it, I realized, they're not super-athletes, just normal people. I mean that in the best way-they were successful at it not because they are exceptionally strong, fast, or athletically gifted, but because they made up their minds to do it and then worked hard to make it happen. If they can do it, why can't I?
Certainly I am doing it for myself, as a chance to push myself and see what I can do and to feel the satisfaction of a challenge answered. But I'm also doing it for Daniel. Three of the most important virtues I hope to show him by example are the courage to try hard things, the perseverance to succeed at them, and the confidence to believe he can do them.
I read a quote recently by Mahatma Gandhi that I think sums it up well: “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”
So with that in mind, 4 times a week I'm lacing up my shoes and hitting the trail. So far, so good. I won't be competitive, but I fully expect to cross that finish line in December. And someday I look forward to showing Daniel my finisher's medal and telling him about all the hard work that went into it. Better yet, I look forward to the day years from now when he joins me for a run or a bike ride and I can share those activities with him.
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