As mothers, we live to watch our children hit those wonderful milestones...first steps, first words, potty training (thank God when this happens), and so many other things. When our children are babies, as in my case, we look forward to new discoveries and abilities each day, yet we lament the swift passage of time and a part of us wonders why they can't stay babies for just a bit longer.
Joshua is now taking his first steps, walking like a drunken sailor with his feet wide apart and his arms out, trying valiantly to hold up his giant head and keep everything else in balance. This is a delicate process. This becomes more obvious as I watch him walk to the bathtub sans clothing. Clothed, it is pretty clear that his head is, well, enormous. Naked, if his head is a watermelon, then his little butt is a cherry. While it is, of course, the cutest thing I have ever seen, it is also no wonder that this walking thing is taking more time and practice than I would have thought.
Oh, but does his little face light up with pride after he's taken several steps on his own before he falls on that tiny little bum. I exclaim in rapture, Daddy's buttons burst as if his is the first child ever to walk, and Joshua gives himself a resounding round of applause before we begin the entire process over again. We love to see how many steps he can take unassisted, and watch his expressions range from determination to walk farther on his own to frustration when he can't quite make it happen. Ah, the joys of motherhood.
And, oh, the wonder of the spoken word! I have a greater appreciation for the expression "from the mouths of babes" now that my very own babe is beginning to test the waters of speech. He mastered "mama", "dada", "nana", and "hot" a few months ago, and it seemed we were stuck in the pattern of calling everything under the sun "hot" or "nana". Now, however, Joshua has discovered the magical world of "no no". Sometimes I rue the day I said, "Aww, isn't that precious! He's talking! I do wish he'd learn more words, it's so fun to hear him talk!" If I but had a time machine I'd go back three months and kick myself in my considerable hind end and say, "Self, get a grip. You must find a way to keep him a baby forever. Your future sanity depends upon it!" Alas, I do not have a time machine, and while James is convinced he can find the formula to construct a flux capacitor, I do not hold out much hope. Thus, "mama, no no!".
On Monday morning, I was getting ready for the day, had just put in my contacts, when I noticed my monster child gnawing on my glasses. This is a child who understands what "no" means. I know this because when he does things that are "no no's", he grins at me, a lopsided evil little smile accompanied by an unmistakable glint in his eye. Then, when he gets in trouble, he gathers his lips into an adorable little kissy face as if to say, "Mama, I know I was naughty, but I'll never do it again. I wooove woo!" How can I compete with that? But I digress. Whilst he was chewing on my new Gucci glasses, I sighed, knelt down and tried to gently pry them from his grasp. He looked up at me, innocent as you please, and said, "Mama, no no!"
Ah.
Rarely am I at a loss for words; this was one of a handful of times my vastly impressive vocabulary and wit completely deserted me. I was left to tread the treacherous waters of back talk with no life preserver, and I know that this is such a mild form that other moms (surely those with teenaged girls) will just look at me and smile in a knowing way. They understand that "mama no no" is just the tip of the sassy iceberg, and there will come a day, probably not too far into the future, that I will wish for the time machine to take me back to these blissful days.
So, as Joshua and I waddle on into toddlerhood together (it's a first for both of us) I will try valiantly to remember that these days will never come again, and that every milestone is precious, even if it makes me want to tear my hair out.
