I created a website the day Connor was born. The goal was to show family and friends some pictures and videos as Connor grew up and they could come and go as they pleased instead of me clogging their inbox or doing the 1960s vacation slide treatment every time they came over. It has morphed into a secondary backup and recovery site. The fun thing is those moments are suspended in time. As I watch Connor grow every day, the changes seem subtle and I guess it’s a little like the old story about “how does one boil a frog.” In any case, Josie started walking a couple of months ago and started talking more than just two or three words and gibberish a couple of weeks ago. I mean she is really chattering.
I thought more about the website because three of my co-workers are having children in the next few months. For all of them it is their first child. Although Josie is 15 months now, and I can hardly remember when she was just a teeny tiny baby, I do remember the stress of the first one. I also remember all the advice, most of which was some form of “Don’t blink, they’ll be (insert something clever) soon.”
So I went to the old trusty website to watch Connor at that same age. And I was shocked. What a sweet little boy and you look at him now and he has changed so much. His little gibberish has developed into thoughtful paragraphs and adventure stories that he can make up to entertain both him and us. He is helping Josie with words when prompted. Josie is also very adept in asking for things she wants. She no longer points and says that…okay, she still does, but she tries to learn the actual word now as well. For example, Valentine’s day brought us several children’s card sets which included stickers. Our kids love stickers and Connor was peeling some off and putting them on me and Nita. Josie said something just south of sticker but was pointing to the back of her hand. Pretty cute.
So I went to the website again and watched a few more videos and discovered that this is the time for pretty monumental gains. I’m thinking we’re due for another trip to the children’s museum or the zoo. Even though the Austin zoo is pretty weak, they do have Lions, Tigers, and well you know. Now that Josie can make more animal sounds, and can sound out a few of them, it might be another nice treat to take them both out there. Plus Connor just loves seeing all the big animals anyway. And he is absolutely tickled to death (thanks Madagascar), that “monkeys throw poo.”
We were always told that the second and subsequent children develop a lot faster than the first one. Partly because of the over protection of the new parents, but secondly because they have role models that are closer to their own stages of development. For example, Josie loves to jump on the couch like Connor and is less impressed with daddy’s knowledge of cloud computing. Therefore, what Connor is doing is much more interesting than what daddy is doing, unless of course daddy and mommy are starting a dance-a-thon in the living room. And by everything, I mean everything. If Connor wants to warm his hands by the fire, guess what? If Connor finds an interesting place to stand, he’s got a shadow. And when he’s not looking, she’s got his shoes on.
So if the phases are lining up correctly, Josie is just about ready for her first pork rib from Rudy’s. She’s got enough teeth, and she isn’t afraid of anything we put on her tray, so I guess this weekend might just be a BBQ weekend. As for the new mommies and daddies, well, enjoy every moment. Capture as many of those moments as you can, and embrace each new phase. And sleep when they sleep, and don’t leave sharp things on countertops, and…good luck.
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