Monster Leaps

My youngest took his first steps last week.

Triumphant wobbly steps toward a future of expectation. Such a proud and happy smile as we clapped and praised him. We were so excited!

Shortly thereafter, my 3 yr old daughter made sure that we watched as she took the same path and walked the same walk. She turned to us smiling and waiting to be praised. We were happy to oblige., both of us a little teary as we thought about the same day 2 years ago as she wobbled from my arms to her father's and back again.

She has sat by cheering on her little brother: "good job Dean" "Yay Dean!". She is his cheerleader. She also takes his hand and pulls him along, usually faster than he can travel yet. But she will also walk across the room in front of us and wait for her applause. Torn between her role as little girl and big sister.

When Maya was just learning to walk I used to grab her under the armpits and swing her up and then down on the floor as we moved toward the bathroom. This was a fun way to get her to the bathroom to wash her hands. It was a one way ticket, monster leaps were a to the bathroom only event.

Now that she has grown older we had stopped with the monster leaps request and somehow it is not something I picked up with Dean.

The other day, for reasons unknown to me she asked for Monster Leaps again. I was happy to oblige. And as I swung the 35 pound three year old toward the bath room I knew that the time for this game was short.

She is heavy
She is growing
and Monster Leaps is a one-way ticket