A New Best Friend

This week hasn't had any huge milestones, but it has had a lot of moments. I've begun to realize that the moments are just as precious as the "firsts" like crawling, walking, and talking. We've always loved Jack's personality, but it has really begun to shine these past few weeks. It is so incredible to watch him interact with his surroundings. Sometimes he invites Tom and I to be a part of his exploration, but increasingly more often, we are simply spectators.

Take Monty, for example. Jack is fascinated with him. Monty used to tolerate Jack's incessant attempts to pull his hair, but he eventually got annoyed and headed for another room. It has just been in the past week that Jack has figured out how to properly interact with Monty. It really began with the breakfast routine. Jack has started having dry toast as part of his morning meal. He loves being able to pick up the pieces and feed himself. When he doesn't want to eat any more toast, he shares with Monty. He casually picks up a piece of toast and drops it over the side of his highchair for Monty, who is waiting patiently below. At first I thought this was just a coincidence, but the more I've observed these two, they've worked out a deal. Jack feeds Monty, and Monty will put up with a little more of Jack's "petting."

   

Yesterday, I observed another moment between these two. It was a gorgeous sunshiny fall day outside, so I decided to take my two guys for a walk. I got Monty all harnessed up, and then left to the kitchen to fetch a plastic bag. When I returned to the front room, I saw Jack holding onto Monty's leash. They were ready for a walk together!

Mothering moments. Nothing earth-shattering. Not occurrences to be recorded in the baby book. Just little snippets of life that I've come to treasure.