Please forgive my haste and sloppy writing. As Willow becomes more active, I have an ever-tightening window for writing on this blog. I'll keep plugging away, though.
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Miss Willow has had an extraordinary few days, and they're going to continue.
On Friday, she and I headed to our first Gymboree class, and we had a blast!
I'd been nervous about going because I tend to shrink from strangers, and I was intimidated about being the only man in a group of cheerful and chatty women.
I was wrong. Willow and I had so much fun that we can't wait to get back on Friday.
Aside from Willow and me, there were seven mommies and their babies ranging from 6 months to 9 months old. Both Willow and I were shy at first, but we got over that pretty quickly.
A mom about my age helped me out of my shell, and Willow, well, I think her curiosity overcame her timidness. Before long she was off and crawling, exploring everything (she was not one for staying in Daddy's lap during the activities).
After a few minutes, I realized I was one of the chatty ones, and the other 30-something in the class was chatting along with me. The other moms in the class were quite quiet. And that got me to thinking: Maybe the moms I come across at the park aren't intimidated by my being a man, maybe they're intimidated by my age (it's the older folks who chat with me and visit with Willow; gasp, could it be because I'm old?).
Enough about me, Willow also took over the class. She was the oldest and biggest kid in the class, and she could crawl the best. She was the only baby who could stand, so she pretty much towered over everyone.
The last time Willow was among babies, toddlers and young kids, the other children were taking toys from her. Not this time. She was snatching toys from everyone else.
She and all the babies had fun, and I think the moms had even more fun. I think I had the most fun, though.
Of the eight babies in the class, three were crawlers. My favorite part of the class is when the crawlers broke free from their mommies (and daddy) and gravitated to the middle of the circle. They almost bumped heads as they explored the diagrams on the floor in the middle, and as they got to know each other.
Two days later, on Sunday, Cherish and I took Willow to the zoo. The highlight of the day, by far, was the amazing playground at the zoo. We took Willow into the toddler pit. What fun!
This time, Willow was the youngest and among the smallest of the babes in there, so she was more cautious. She mostly stayed pinned to one spot, but she loved, ABSOLUTELY LOVED, watching the other kids jump and run around.
After a while, she got the gumption to crawl toward some of the bigger kids. Cherish and I kept her at a safe distance, but she simply had an unadulterated blast.
We'll be going back there soon and often. It won't be too long until Willow is walking with the other children; she stood by herself for about 10 seconds this morning, just out in the middle of the living room floor.
It won't be long until I'm really chasing her around.
P.S. We're off to the library's lapsit story time this morning. The kids are older there, so we haven't been for a while, but I have a feeling she can handle herself just fine now.
###
Miss Willow has had an extraordinary few days, and they're going to continue.
On Friday, she and I headed to our first Gymboree class, and we had a blast!
I'd been nervous about going because I tend to shrink from strangers, and I was intimidated about being the only man in a group of cheerful and chatty women.
I was wrong. Willow and I had so much fun that we can't wait to get back on Friday.
Aside from Willow and me, there were seven mommies and their babies ranging from 6 months to 9 months old. Both Willow and I were shy at first, but we got over that pretty quickly.
A mom about my age helped me out of my shell, and Willow, well, I think her curiosity overcame her timidness. Before long she was off and crawling, exploring everything (she was not one for staying in Daddy's lap during the activities).
After a few minutes, I realized I was one of the chatty ones, and the other 30-something in the class was chatting along with me. The other moms in the class were quite quiet. And that got me to thinking: Maybe the moms I come across at the park aren't intimidated by my being a man, maybe they're intimidated by my age (it's the older folks who chat with me and visit with Willow; gasp, could it be because I'm old?).
Enough about me, Willow also took over the class. She was the oldest and biggest kid in the class, and she could crawl the best. She was the only baby who could stand, so she pretty much towered over everyone.
The last time Willow was among babies, toddlers and young kids, the other children were taking toys from her. Not this time. She was snatching toys from everyone else.
She and all the babies had fun, and I think the moms had even more fun. I think I had the most fun, though.
Of the eight babies in the class, three were crawlers. My favorite part of the class is when the crawlers broke free from their mommies (and daddy) and gravitated to the middle of the circle. They almost bumped heads as they explored the diagrams on the floor in the middle, and as they got to know each other.
Two days later, on Sunday, Cherish and I took Willow to the zoo. The highlight of the day, by far, was the amazing playground at the zoo. We took Willow into the toddler pit. What fun!
This time, Willow was the youngest and among the smallest of the babes in there, so she was more cautious. She mostly stayed pinned to one spot, but she loved, ABSOLUTELY LOVED, watching the other kids jump and run around.
After a while, she got the gumption to crawl toward some of the bigger kids. Cherish and I kept her at a safe distance, but she simply had an unadulterated blast.
We'll be going back there soon and often. It won't be too long until Willow is walking with the other children; she stood by herself for about 10 seconds this morning, just out in the middle of the living room floor.
It won't be long until I'm really chasing her around.
P.S. We're off to the library's lapsit story time this morning. The kids are older there, so we haven't been for a while, but I have a feeling she can handle herself just fine now.
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