Cole has had a couple of “firsts” lately:
First Steps
This one is tricky. The day we’re considering his day for “first steps” was the 9th of May. But it’s subjective and different parents will classify differently. Here’s how it played out:
Cole is standing there, not holding onto anything, and decides to put one foot in front of the other. He falls. Not daunted, he brushes himself off, and tries a few more times. Step-fall. Step, step-fall. A “step-fall” happens when his weight isn’t really stable on the next foot. So, for me, he wasn’t REALLY taking his first steps, he was putting a foot forward and then falling. But then, about the 5th or 6th time, it was Step. Step. Step-fall. It’s the step in the middle that counted. After taking that first step, he was still balanced, brought his other foot forward and took another step without falling. Then he step-fell.
He didn’t suddenly start “taking off” like most kids do after that initial few steps, but he’s been practicing a little bit every day. And loving it! He’s so proud of himself.
Skills of a Climber
This one’s not quite as exciting as the walking, but it’s the more… er… “interesting” one because it means we can’t let him out of our sight for a second now. He grasped the concept of putting one knee up on a surface and then pulling his body up the rest of the way. That means that the couch is no problem anymore, that the dogs have suddenly become even more entertaining obstacles, and that our child gates may have a very limited shelf life.
He is also climbing backwards/down with more skill. When I advise him “Backwards, Cole,” he will spin around and find his way off the couch, bed, or whatever… feet first. Previously it was always a disastrous forwards somersault waiting to happen. Another cute thing? He started saying “Bah” (“Back” as far as I can optimistically tell!) when switching around. So cute! Which leads me to my favourite:
Saying “Dada” in a meaningful way
Obviously this one melted my heart. Alex was working on his bedtime routine 2 days ago and was in the bouncing-to-sleep stage when I walked into the room to see if she needed anything. Cole was still relatively awake, turned and saw me, twisted his back around and stretched out his arms, and then he said it: “Dada!” I must’ve been lighting up the whole room with my smile, cause Alex starting grinning like a grinning fool to herself. She gets like that when she sees me happy.
Of course I snatched up the little guy for some cuddle. How could you not?
A few more times since then, it has become clear that he’s using “dada” intentionally to refer to me, rather than just “dadadadada” sounds (though he still does those, too… you can spot the difference though!).
…
Always fun watching him change and grow before our very eyes. Today his Nana also indicated that his hair, while still “blondish” is about the same redness Mama Monkey’s hair was at that age. Which means there’s still a chance he’ll be a ginger. Cute!
