One small step...for Maddox

So much has been going on around here that I haven't had even a second to post anything, and I keep promising my parents that I'll post some pictures. Our major new accomplishment is that Maddox is actually walking now! Yea! He's taken his sweet time figuring out how to balance his enormous head and body weight on only two legs, but he's finally gotten the hang of it. And like all new walkers, it is so cute to see the waddling and high-stepping that goes on while they figure it out.

Maddox actually started taking a few steps in late January (which we videoed and are just now posting), but just in the last two weeks he has really gotten the hang of it. And he LOVES it! I had no idea that walking could give you such a rush, but he gets so excited just walking along. I guess for his age that probably is comparable to a "runner's high" (technically a walker's high in this case.) Here is a picture of one of his favorite activites -- climbing onto the built-in shelves that used to have frames and plants on them. That was before he decided to join Kennedy in destroying everything he could reach. Sigh. Someday I'll have "breakables" again!

Now that he's walking we were feeling pretty good about our accomplishments as parents until I stumbled upon a list of "milestones" that a 15th month old should have reached (you know, the ones you read up on when you have your first baby). Ummm, serious whoops! So he isn't talking much or calling me Mom yet, nor can he point to body parts when we say them, or use a spoon or fork, but he's pretty cute! We're working on waving and when we bless the food he folds his arms all by himself (of course he has learned that he gets food right after, so he folds his arms as often as possible in hopes of getting fed more)...but we could not love him any more! And he's such a happy kid, so I guess we're doing something right. And we honestly hadn't even thought about what he could or couldn't do until we saw the list of milestones or we would probably have been working with him more on them. But then he'd be so brilliant he'd eventually think he knows more than we do, and we already have one of "those" children. So we're settling for happy (and handsome doesn't hurt either!)

And for the far away grandparents, here are three videos of him walking. Each of them shows him getting a little better each time, so you can get the whole walking spectrum. Enjoy!