The Milestone

C reached a milestone this week.  It was very exciting.  For weeks, we have been watching as he has hoisted himself up on his hands and knees only to flop back down of his belly from the exertion.  And then he starting rocking back and forth on his hands and knees, not really going anywhere.  Well, except that one morning when he nose planted into the hardwood floor.  He was cranky the entire rest of the day.  He must have actually hurt himself.  Or just been angry and frustrated for not being able to do it yet.  I have NO idea where he would get that trait from.

The hubs and I often joke that M is his child, from his looks to his sleeping patterns to his personality, and C is mine for all the same reasons.  It should be noted that I get extremely angry and frustrated when I am unable to do something that I think I should be able to do.  A very good friend can attest to an adult temper tantrum when she once suggested that perhaps I wait for a man to help me assemble a barbecue grill.  She beat a hasty retreat up the stairs to our apartment.  We did laugh about it later that night but I think I scared her a little at the time.  And, as an aside, yes, I did assemble the grill...all by myself.

Back to C.  It was playtime after dinner for him and before bath.  M was eating animals crackers from his snack cup and he thinks its funny to try to feed C things he cannot yet have.  M had dropped his cup and was playing on the other side of his room.  I was composing a text to the hubs complaining about M and his habit of feeding C when something caught my eye.  I looked over and there he was, crawling!  Actual across the room crawling.  I screeched and pointed, "He's doing it!! He's doing it!! M he's crawling!"  It wasn't very fast and sadly, I had to take his motivator away from him when he reached it-M's cup of animal crackers, but he did it.  And he was so proud of himself.  I was lucky enough to have the cell phone in hand so I quickly switched it from text to video and captured that moment.  I was so proud of myself!

I love to watch my boys accomplish what they set out to do.  I stand back and watch, resisting the urge to reach over and help them, knowing that it is more important that they do it themselves vs. doing it "right".  And when they do succeed, its cause for celebration for them and for me.  I am in the middle of a reading The Optimistic Child by Martin E. Seligman, Ph.D.  The good doctor cautions against helping too much, allowing your child to rise to a challenge.  In doing so, you are teaching a valuable lesson in failure, perseverance and self-esteem.  I agree with this point of view.  Without a failure or two, C would not have known the exhilaration of success after hard work.  I am so proud.   :)