Houston, we have a toddler!

Up to this point Jackson's primary means of transportation has been a blend of crawling and "walking," which is what we call it when he pulls up on the furniture and takes a few steps on his own toward someone coaxing him. Gradually he's been walking a little more, and we have been increasing the distance we ask him to try. But at some point last week, without announcement, he started walking more than crawling. Now we rarely see him crawling anymore and I think it's safe to say... we have a toddler! Jackson's newest abilities include running away down the hall when he knows its nap time, "dancing" (squatting up and down while flapping his arms when he wants something I won't let him have), and redesigning the living room (which is what I call it when he steals the figurines off the end tables and carries them off to his bedroom). Now that he can pick up objects and run off with them, it's a whole new ballgame! One day last week I was in the kitchen making dinner and Jack was on the other side of the baby gate - in the living room. He was dying to come in the kitchen but I knew he would be in there opening cabinets and "rearranging" them if he got half a chance, so I talked to him over the gate, but wouldn't budge on letting him over. He "bargained" with me about it for a while, then turned to screaming about it, and when that wouldn't work he stood there and shook the gate back and forth for all he was worth trying to get it loose. After a while I noticed it was quiet again and I realized he'd probably given up and was playing with his toys... Then I heard a "thunk" and then another "thunk." I kept on chopping potatoes until I saw a block go flying past my feet. By the time dinner was cooked and ready, Jackson had thrown an entire arsenal of toys over the gate, along with the TV remote, a pair of headphones, two books, one sippy cup, a computer mouse, and one pair of thankfully unbroken glasses. When I finally walked over to the gate and said, "What do you think you're doing?" he just grinned from ear to ear, said "da," and held up his arms to be lifted over the gate.

Comments

Anonymous said…
This is great, Jackie. Such fun for your Mom and me to read. Looking forward to being there to enjoy some of the fun directly!
Love,
Dad