Miracles Walk and Have Blonde Hair and Blue Eyes

I can’t believe it – after 21 ½ months Elliot is finally walking! To most it doesn’t seem that unusual especially given that he started life at a petite 1 pound 12 ounces, but you have to understand that most babies in our family walk very early - usually by their 1st birthday. Elliot started sitting up by his 1st birthday. We knew then that it would be a while until he was able to walk. We also knew that he would journey down his own path – completely uncharted territory for all of us.

He is still only 17 pounds and still in a rear facing car seat, so he has for all this time looked an acted like a baby. It has been hard not to treat him like a baby. We live in an area with lots of babies. On any given Sunday at church there are dozens of babies and dozens of comparisons. It is hard to hear, “Oh my baby is 6 months old and look he is bigger than your son! How old is he?” For Elliot these kinds of comparisons are not fair or accurate. E is in a class by himself. At his last doctor visit he was in the 3rd percentile – not too many of babies running around in the 3rd percentile but for E that is normal.

For me the last few days have been ones of pure joy! Joy that he is walking. Joy that E has found a new sense of freedom. Joy at seeing my daughter’s relief. This has been a monumental week for all of us, but I didn’t realize until today what his walking means to Brooke. She said, “He is a real little boy now and I am so glad, he’s been a baby for so long!” Wow!

There are two interesting events in the walking – turning around and falling down. At first falling down was fun, the trick then was getting back up. Unable to just stand up by himself he just sat there and screamed, highly frustrated that his business of walking had been so rudely interrupted. So I showed him how to crawl to the nearest wall and use that to help him stand up. I was amazed that before I could turn around he was heading to the wall, standing up and off on his way again, falling down a time or two on purpose just to try our his new trick, now fully satisfied that he could manage this all on his own. The second thing, turning around, is a real source of laughter and delight for all of us. Firmly planting one foot he pivots all the way around only lifting the outside foot. This maneuver gave him the ability to pull off the perfect fake out. “Elliot, come here to me!’ someone would say with arms outstretched to receive the wind-up doll waddling toward them. E moving unsteadily toward the receiver looked as if we was going straight to them, but at the last second he would execute the pivot maneuver and toddle away with a big grin on his face. So pleased with himself!!!

This morning I went to pick up my daughter and E to bring them back to my house for a day of making Preemie Tees. I got E dressed and had him sitting on my lap while I dressed him. Afterwards he just stood up and walked away and it startled me. “Oh yeah, he is walking now!” I suppose in time I will get use to it, but right now it is just amazing. He looks too little to be walking I think to myself as his blonde head wobbles away from me. He is moving faster today than he did yesterday. It makes me so glad to be his grandmother and that I get to see him progress like this. It was different with my own children. Walking was like breathing. Everyone does both effortlessly. The brain commands and the body obeys. That is how I used to see it. I took so much for granted…not anymore.

I am sitting here watching and hardly able to believe what I am seeing and what I am seeing is a real life miracle - a long awaited blessing from a gracious, kind, loving Father in Heaven! A little downy, toe headed boy, some days he reminds me of a duckling and especially today, waddling back and forth like a wind-up toy. He takes walking so seriously, it is his new job and he performs his task over and over without tiring. His tongue is stuck out with his perfect Cupid’s bow lips firmly pursed around it, brow furrowed and eyes set on an imaginary mark somewhere in front of him. His whole face is set in deep concentration as if what he is doing is a new invention, never done before by anyone. For a second he looks so grown up with all that concentration on his face and I see for a second what he will look like in a few years. He holds up his left arm as if holding onto an imaginary hand for balance. Back and forth he goes crossing the room in a pattern only he can see. Oops, plop! He looks at his Mommy and a broad grin crosses his face, blue eyes sparkling in delight. “Yaaaayyyyy” he squeals, hands clapping. I watched him nearly all day and I never got tired of seeing this scene played out. He literally did it all day long. And like the Energizer Bunny he kept going and going! It is, for me, as delightful the last time as it was the first time!