Boot Scoot Boogie

There are milestones in every baby's life. The first bath, the first smile, the first poop. Parents swell with pride as their little one masters one  bodily function after the next. Each phase is celebrated for a short period of time, and then everyone begins to wonder when the next step will follow. The first roll, the first bite of food, the first time sitting up.

All of a sudden, you look up and wonder when did this happen?

I'd bet that Oliver would skip crawling, and just start walking. He just had to prove me wrong. He's stubborn, but he gets it honestly.

He started crawling this week. For the last few weeks he's been getting onto all fours and bouncing back and forth. We'd watch him get up some momentum. Back and forth. Back and forth. Then he'd roll onto his back and start chewing on his feet. If he wanted a toy, he'd streeeetch and get it. He'd lay on his belly and wave his arms like he was swimming. It's amazing how much he could get into without actually being "mobile."

As I was telling my Mom how he still wasn't crawling--he started moving. He just crawled like he'd always known how. I think he'd been practicing in his room without me knowing it. I started narrating the event to my Mom.

"He's moving! His left arm is out. Now his right. His legs are trying to keep up. He's going right to the....DOG FOOD! NOOO Oliver! NOOO! Don't put that in your mouth! Mom, I'm gonna have to call you back."

I put him in the living room. I thought, Okay, there's no dog food in here. We should be good. Wrong. Right to the electrical cords. As his fat legs scooted across the carpet all he was thinking was nom nom nom. All I was thinking was electricution.

Suddenly, dog food didn't seem like such a big deal.