Fearless

Anyone who has had the pleasure of going to the park with us knows what a cautious, shall I say fearful boy McGee is. Unlike many toddlers, he is not one to get excited about climbing all over the play equipment and going down slides. He does however, LOVE to watch other kids do these things and gets excited seeing them go down the slides, but he has enjoyed being a spectator for the most part...until today. Today we went to a new park with an in-ground water feature (shoots water up from the ground) and not only was he going into the water voluntarily a number of times, but he also PLAYED all over the play equipment, climbing stairs and sliding down the slide without any encouragement and without me near him! It was so out of character that even another mom, who knows him well, commented how surprised she was at how well he was doing. He really seemed to come out of his cautious shell and he had a great time! I'm so proud of you McGee! It's just a reminder to me that each child goes through different phases and not to label my child with any one personality type because as any mom knows, every day can be different!

He may look cold and unhappy, but really he had a great time
playing in the water and going on the slide!
--------------------------------------------------------------------

On the other hand, Miss Em is showing herself to be quite the opposite, a daredevil, fearless and always searching for adventure. At 15 months and counting, Miss Em still is not walking, but she is on the move and may be walking within the week. Yesterday she was pushing her baby doll stroller/walker and when I offered her the sippy cup, she grabbed it with both hands and just stood there, unassisted for a few seconds. This was the first time she has stood alone - another milestone for the books (or blog in our case)! Tonight she showed her fearlessness by repeatedly climbing onto the top of the picnic table. At first I thought she was just climbing up to grab a toy, but after taking her down a few times and making sure there weren't any toys on the table, I realized it was the pure joy and exhilaration of climbing that kept taking her back to the top.

The mighty climber's ascent to the top

Big Brother loves his water gun and thought it was fun to shoot baby sister in

the neck with the water. She couldn't figure out what it was on her

neck and her confused reaction was so funny!

Just have to end by saying I adore these meaty little legs on my girl. Even yesterday at the library a mom commented on how she was sad her kids never had the "Michelin arms" like our Em.