It wasn't until very recently that I fully understood just how profound the impact of walking can be on the life of a child. Once a child walks he magically transforms from a baby to a toddler. It's a marvelously rapid transformation. So fast you don't even see it happen. You just wake up one day and *poof* your baby is gone. In his place is this entirely new being, an intelligent, selfish, calculating toddler whose insatiable appetite for knowledge and penchant for reckless experimentation reminds one of Johnny 5. Robert is definitely a toddler. Sometimes I can't get over how old he seems. A silly thing to think about a kid who has only just begun his second year, but it's true.
I love watching as he tries to figure out language. He knows that certain sounds mean certain things, and he has a few of those sounds figured out. Today he apparently learned "bott" after The Missus asked if he wanted a drink from her bottle of water. He proudly repeated "bott bott bott bott" all the way home. My favorite of Robert's words is Daisy. He says the dog's name with such enthusiasm, "Daisy!", as though he is seeing her for the first time in years. Robert really gets a kick out of her. Yesterday he even played peek-a-boo with her. I don't know how much Daisy got out of the game, but Robert thought it was a hoot.
Robert's world expands every day. He walks wherever he wants to go, and he no longer waits to make sure mom or dad is tagging along. Around almost every corner lies a new mini-world to explore, and within each world are all sorts of fascinating objects begging to be touched, pulled, pushed, slobbered on, or squealed at. Robbie's new walking skills even earned him his first badge of honor yesterday: a nice scab on his chin. The first of many, I'm sure.
One downside to all of this is that Robbie no longer wants to be bothered with things like meals or naps. He used to eat like a pig, but now he has a cow if he has to sit in his high chair very long. And naps? Bah. Naps are for babies. Let's play and explore! Incidentally, mom isn't sold on the no-nap theory. And the change at meal-time, though completely normal for toddlers, is still annoying, especially at restaurants.
I know these next months are going to be a whirlwind of activity and change. I hope I'm ready! And I hope you all are ready for even more "Robert did the neatest thing this morning!" stories. For example, Robert did the cutest thing this morning when he gave me a big, wet, sloppy, open-mouthed kiss on the cheek. It was the first time he ever kissed me. (Well, the first unambiguous time, anyway.) What a way to be sent off to work.
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