June 24th...it feels like that date will be ingrained in my thoughts forever somehow. My little Jude took his first real steps. I know that at 12 1/2 months old, he has experienced many milestones thus far. Rolling, sitting up, crawling, eating baby food, cruising, etc., yes, they all happened. But this event really struck me. He is now a standing, (almost) walking human being now. He looks like a "real" kid now when he wobbles through those few little steps that he takes any chance he gets. This is it. No more babies. I recall a few weeks back when I opened that last can of formula....I said out loud to Jude, "This is it Judie, the last can of formula I will open for a long time...probably until I have grandchildren". Although neither Terry or I are "fixed" yet, we are taking all precautions to keep from having any more children. We are both very content with the 2 that we have and are truly DONE. So these experiences with Jude are the last time I as a mother will get to personally experience them.
The other thing that really caught my attention about that fateful day was Terry's reaction to Jude walking.
As soon as I saw Jude take those first couple of steps I thought..."huh...that's neat" and just kept watching. A few minutes later it was 4 steps. That's when I called my mom. Her first reaction was, "Are you getting this on video??". I hung up and immediately got my camera.
The first try..."Jude, look at the book...can you get the book? Go get it!"...lights, camera, action...and he begins the scene. 7 steps...right to the book. Both of my parents separately pointed out once they saw the video that if the book had been further away, then it looked like he would have taken even more steps.
So of course I texted Terry at work and told him of this and chatted with him about it later when he was leaving work to come home. Jude was napping when he got home, so I immediately tried to show Terry the video. He refused! **GASP!!**...You don't want to see your son's first videotaped steps?????!!!!! He then informed me that he would not watch the video until after he'd seen Jude take some steps with his own eyes.
So...like wow...I was stunned. How many dads think like that? At that moment I realized how precious and blessed my family is. Perfect we are not...but love, we have. I loved my husband a hundred times stronger from that moment. He may not have realized my amazement of his words, but it was there. For all his faults, he certainly makes up for it by being a diligent and attentive father.
So here is where it begins. A blog (much easier for me to sit and type than to write in a paper journal) that celebrates all of the little things that pop up in life...snuck under the radar by God to show us just who He is and what He wants for us. Love. Plain and simple.