Thursday, June 08, 2006

11-Month Milestone

First steps. They're such a big...um,...er,...step in a child's development. When I imagined how it would happen, I always pictured Little Guy eagerly lifting one chubby little foot and stepping towards me, arms outstretched, tumbling happily right into my arms for a scrumptialicious hug.

And that's almost how it happened...

However, in reality, this is how it went down. Last night I made a batch of my favorite smoothies. (See picture below and click here for the awesome smoothie book that I took the recipe from.) I sat Little Guy down across from me on the rug in our family room so that we could share the delicious rasperry concotion together. One spoonful for him, two spoonfuls for me. One spoonful for him, two spoonfuls for me.

At some point, I think it became clear to him that he was getting shorted a spoonful or two because all of a sudden he rose from the ground, steadied himself carefully on both feet, and then, with his eyes fixed intently on the icy goodness I was holding, he pumped both fists in the air, grunted twice (I kid you not), and then took two Frankenstein-like steps in my direction, hands plunging straight for the beverage.

As I wrestled the smoothie away from him, careful not to let any of the pink iciness fall onto my cream colored shag carpet, I realized that these were officially his first two steps.

I couldn't believe it. Eleven months have flown by so quickly. Suddenly his babyness seemed to be slipping through my fingers just a little bit too fast. I wanted to freeze time, to remember exactly how he looked in his long john PJs and little bib, with his pink moustache and messy fingers.

Yet, no matter how much I wished I could bottle his babyness in that moment, I couldn't. So instead I opted to give him the last four spoonfuls of our smoothie. After all, he earned it.

39 Comments:

Blogger carrie said...

Congratulations on those first steps!!!

Who knew that a smoothie was the ultimate motivator??

Carrie

12:19 AM  
Blogger Marcie said...

Walking for refreshments! My kind of kid.

4:54 AM  
Blogger Christina_the_wench said...

~clapping~ Way to go, Little Guy! Mom has no idea what she is in for now! (giggling)

5:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh boy, he's walking! You'll have to have your smoothies in secret if you want them to yourself I think! Way to go little guy!

5:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's awesome! Makes sense though...I'd totally take my first steps for a cocktail.

5:46 AM  
Blogger Christina said...

Congrats on his first steps!

And you did preserve the memory in words. Your description was very vivid.

6:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can remember the first crawl like a snapshot in my mind, but not really the first steps. Enjoy it all!

7:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sweet treats are a major motivator. Congrats!!

And I love those glasses. So pretty.

7:27 AM  
Blogger Dana a/k/a Sunshine said...

AWWW - that is great. It is kind of bittersweet though isn't it - those first steps symbolic of a lifetime of steps AWAY FROM us as parents. EEEK

7:46 AM  
Blogger Bea said...

Greed - the trait that first led us to emerge from the primal ooze. Congratulations, Little Guy!

8:20 AM  
Blogger mamatulip said...

WOW! Congrats on the first steps! Look out, mama. ;)

Thanks for the smoothie link, too.

8:28 AM  
Blogger Momma G said...

Love this...your kid was just finding something worth walking about! Those smoothies must be darn good indeed!

8:31 AM  
Blogger Andrea said...

Yay Little Guy! Prepare yourself, for he's mobile now. Woo hoo!

9:36 AM  
Blogger Mamacita Tina said...

Awww, those first steps, precious. Maybe you'll luck out like I did. My little guy didn't walk again for a month after his first steps, so I got to keep my baby a little longer.

1:55 PM  
Blogger Farm Girl said...

Ahh, but what was in that smoothie that he wanted it sooo bad? Congrats on the step, there will be no stopping him now and life as you knew it will be much different.

3:36 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

A man with priorities and ambition and good taste?? Um, in a few years can I introduce Little Guy to one of my Little Gals?!

5:18 PM  
Blogger Jill said...

My 4-year-old's first steps occured on Christmas morning 2002. He liked the wind-up Homer Simpson doll my husband got, so he walked right after it. Doh!

Congratulations to your little guy!

6:47 PM  
Blogger metro mama said...

So sweet! My one-year-old just took two steps the other day.

I should break out the smoothies to encourage her.

7:57 PM  
Blogger Nut's mom said...

I am jealous. My problem with Nut right now is that he doesn't want to push himself up or sit, he wants to STAND. Bear and I hold him up and you can feel his little legs working but he just isn' intersted in the sitting part. Sigh... I am not worried. he's young still.

no not worried at all... yet.

7:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

WOW the first steps!! So wonderful and so sad all at once! Congrats!

8:01 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I was waiting and waiting for Leah's- they finally came and now she's off like a bandit- and I'm amazed more and more every day!

8:35 PM  
Blogger Cristina said...

test

10:16 PM  
Blogger Cristina said...

Oh yeah, Blogger's back up! Hooray! Well, I'm gonna make this a quick comment b/c who knows how long Blogger will be up this time.

Thanks to everyone for your congratulations. Once Little Guy starts really walking, we will be in a whole new territory I'm sure!

P.S. Catherine, let's set up the date for 2025. I'm sure our kids' would get along fabulously. :)

10:20 PM  
Blogger the mad momma said...

congratulations on the first step and all! bitter sweet moment i am sure... and how old is the little walker?

1:31 AM  
Blogger Lindsay said...

first steps.... wow! how exciting! Hope you are ready to chase your little guy around town!

6:56 AM  
Blogger Sandra said...

That is one of the best first steps stories I have heard. That must be one damn good smoothie!

7:53 AM  
Blogger Cristina said...

Mad Momma: He'll be a year old at the end of this month. I can't believe it!

Lindsay: ah yes. the chasing. I have a taste of it with having to chase after a crawler. I can't imagine what it'll be like to chase after a walker. Pheww. I feel tired already.

Sunshine Scribe: well, the smoothie WAS pretty good if I do say so myself. LOL.

8:14 AM  
Blogger What's so funny? said...

That's my kinda boy! Make SURE you put this somewhere in his baby book! Too cute! I'm so glad you rewarded him after all his efforts!

I gotta check out that smoothie book.

cheers!

8:48 AM  
Blogger Stephanie said...

Wow! How wonderful that he took his first steps!

Hehe, now the real fun begins. Just wait until he finds the garbage can...

9:58 AM  
Blogger Clean Up Foreclosed Homes said...

Congrats for your little one. It's going to be some fun time now. Maybe more for him than you though. :)

11:02 AM  
Blogger the mad momma said...

momma off the record: you are right. but i still don't think it is a good enough reason to justify mass hysteria! and hey... ur my first international visitor! i am beginning to love this blogging thing.. didnt know there were blogging mamas... they're rare in India

11:32 AM  
Blogger Catch said...

what a cute story! babies are amazing arent they? and your smoothies look delicious!

12:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Those smoothies look like enough to motivate anyone.
What a fun thing to see! I can hardly wait for my little bug's first ones!

9:10 PM  
Blogger Debbie said...

I'm having flashbacks as to how angry I was at blogger for not allowing me to comment a zillion different times, when I try to respond to this post. I had something so very, very deliciously perfect to say, a heartfelt congratulations to top all heartfelt congratulations, ever.

ah, well. I think your kiddo is the smartest, and the cutest. and the funniest. and I can't wait to meet you both at some point. :)

'cause you're obviously both brilliant.

10:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ahh..so sweet. My son's first steps were nothing so dramatic (and much later), but he start crawling for cereal pieces!!

5:18 AM  
Blogger Pollyanna said...

That was such a SWEET story. I loved it. The kid obviously loves to eat and I say, you go boy. :) I only walk when I think there's something's across the room, up a flight of stairs or in another building, that I want to eat too...

8:26 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My guy will be one next week and we've had a few Frankenstein single steps in the interest of a tasty treat, too. Congrats! He'll be running soon :)

4:25 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

2025 it is!!

9:06 AM  
Blogger K. said...

YAY! Congratulations!!

And I couldn't agree with you more about wanting to bottle that babyness. Geez, will us mommies ever learn that our baby boys really DO become men?

12:09 PM  

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