Proof

Sawyer started walking this week. The cool thing for me was that it was completely his own decision. I remember my mom teaching my younger cousin to walk by leading him and then letting go of his hands, so I kind of thought that's how it usually went.

Not my boy, though. No, this guy is determined. He just decided one day to take a few steps. He left the safety of the couch he was clinging to and just went for it. He fell after only two steps and ever since then he has progressed very rapidly. The next day he was taking 5 steps before landing on his butt and the next he was taking 10. He falls, gets up, tries again. He is no quitter, my little guy.

In fact, today he decided that he also wants to master pulling himself into a standing position without holding onto anything. He hasn't figured that one out yet, but he keeps trying. That's a tough skill, you know.

I thought I would be sad to see these milestones come and go, and maybe one day I will look back on these days with tears. For now, though, I am brimming with joy. Maybe it has something to do with the worries that sometimes grip me in the heart and take my breath away - the ones that tell me he's still too skinny and he isn't eating enough - the ones that gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when babies 2 months younger than him started crawling before he did. Maybe it's so much relief and joy that LOOK!  HE'S FINE! HERE'S PROOF! Or, maybe the experience of watching the little love of my life growing, learning, thriving, and becoming his own incredible person would have caused my heart to expand to ten times its size even if he hadn't gone through the tough times. Whatever the reason, it is totally awesome, and I am loving every second.

LOOK! HE'S FINE AMAZING! HERE'S PROOF!