This past weekend my little munchkin celebrated his 10-month birthday with the release of his 7th tooth through his gums and directly into a delicious rice cookie. Little Man still scarfs down his homemade purees, but he’s also really into chewing and is easily quieted with a biscuit or a piece of cheese. I melt every time I watch his little, drooly lips smack together as he pushes bits of mushy Cheerios around his mouth with his tongue.
Jack has been swigging water from a sippy cup for quite some time, but on the morning of his 10-month birthday, Jack informed me that he was no longer a baby. From his standing position beside my bed, where he enjoys knocking my alarm clock, book, chapstick, phone, headbands, tissue box and nail clippers onto the floor with a generous, pendulum-like sweep of his arms, he looked at me longingly as I gulped a few sips of water from the cup I quickly rescued before it too hit the ground along with my timekeeping electronics. So, I offered him a sip. Not only did he hold the cup properly and maneuver the water to his lips, he also swallowed multiple gulps of water without any spilling over his face or down his shirt. Much to my amazement, he continued drinking from the cup as if he’d always been drinking from a cup just like his Mommy, with reasonable pauses and returns.
To celebrate his achievement, I went and bought my big boy a bunch of size 5 shoes for his big boy feet. Now that he’s walking and adventure hiking through the conservancy creek beds with his Grandma, I thought it was time he had some proper, mini-adult footwear.
All of this growing up stuff can really tear at a mother’s heart strings. In one respect, watching Jack develop is the greatest of my pleasures. Little Man can wrestle a life-sized stuffed duck, roam determined through the house as a biped, brush his own teeth, drink from an adult glass… It’s no wonder that tears form in my eyes each time I read the line “But the next baby born was truly divine, a sweet little child who was mine, all mine.” from the book given to Jack by the most generous of his blog-writing fans. The more I teach him, the less he needs me; something a mother accepts, but can never truly get over.








