Climbing is the word this week! The couch, his highchair, in and out of the bathtub, onto and off of our bed and anywhere his mama would rather he not attempt to climb on his own. When I first found out I was pregnant I joined the BEST website for preggo-ladies and mothers: babycenter.com. Every week since pregnancy, I receive an email newsletter covering all the “whos, whats, and where you should bes” about both in utero and post delivery development.
Usually, this site is spot-on with their updates so I wasn’t surprised last week when the update title read: “The Climber.” It wasn’t too long before receiving that email that Brody started showing a keen interest in climbing onto things and I had to kick my Safety Mom superpowers into high gear. I laughed as I read that week’s newsletter as it described how a toddler’s inhibitions are null and void at this stage of life, and in fact he has absolutely no intuitive fear of being hurt. It also touched on the fact that as a young toddler his desire to climb is inherent of his primate ancestry. Through evolution our species created and substantiated life in a horizontal world, thus leaving us no reason to go vertical if not needed. It might be interesting to ponder the idea that our now thriving sense of fear and lack of need to move vertically go hand in hand. I digress…
As autumn begins to cast her cool winds and golden tones, I have to diligently remind myself to enjoy this time of year without dwelling on the impending torturous months when winter bestows its arctic temperatures upon us. I worry about the way-too-cold-for-outside days and how I will keep my little monkey entertained and active. This week while the rain poured, I decided to venture to the mall play area just to take a look-see. Brody was in love.
In the center of this area sits a soft rubber tree trunk clad with slides, steps for climbing, and a tunnel through the middle and underneath. Not only did this play area satisfy his intense and undying desire to climb, but he also learned the thrill of sliding. I have never in my life heard a laugh so pure of joy and delight as the squealing laugh his belly emanates every time he slides down that slide.
At this stage, Brody is now learning to socialize to an extent. Without words, he can only use his eyes and his smile, and let me tell you, I don’t know a girl out there that doesn’t fall immediately in love with him when he flashes his “smizing” big baby browns. My heart warmed as I watched him study and reach out to two other little boys his age, and I could see the glee on his face as he realized these boys were his size. Still very much an independent player, he was definitely interested which is a huge development from his days of no interest at all.
As he learns to socialize, it’s so endearing to see the things he does to mimic what he’s seeing in us. For a while now, he will pick up any pseudo-phone-shaped object and put it to his ear as if he’s answering a very important business call. Recently, these business calls must have become extremely intense and critical as his newest gesture to go along with placing the object at his ear is nodding his head up and down and mumbling as if he’s conversing. It’s hard to explain in writing, but if you imagine the sound Charlie Brown’s teacher made in every Charlie Brown movie, it’s almost identical to that. He never opens his mouth; he keeps his perfect little lips closed, and just mumbles and nods. We crack up as we imagine that through his adorable baby browns, we don’t articulate when we speak.
Everyday with Brody is entertaining and the speed at which he learns things from us is astounding. He now gives us kisses, plays peek-a-boo with us and his toys, plays patty-cake with all of the hand gestures (thank you Aunt Betty aka “Bea Bea!”), and as of this morning, knows how to blow kisses. I suppose now is a good time to start editing our usual gab just to be safe. I cringe to think what might come out of his mouth when his Charlie-Brown-teacher voice becomes fully articulate.
