Alright!! Two days in a row of posting!!

Sticking with the chosen topic: Baby Steps. While I said before that I wasn't necessarily going to focus on my actual baby's "steps," today I felt inspired to talk about Harlan's "baby steps" toward potty training, which is really quite freaky. It seems like only yesterday he was BORN...

But anyway...the little guy has gotten very good at recognizing, and often repeating, the words we say and what they mean. If I say "Do you need a new diaper?" he'll usually stop what he's doing and walk to the changing table in his room. Likewise, if I say, "Do you want to eat?" or "Do you want to take a bath? go to bed?" whatever the case may be, he'll walk to the area where that task usually takes place. Well, because I don't quite trust him yet, if I go to use the bathroom, I usually take him along, just so that I know he's not breaking something or getting into something in another room while I'm "occupied." He has caught on to the word "potty" and now if I say I have to go potty, he'll lead me to the bathroom and point to the stool and say "potty" (in his slightly less clear version of the word). I've had him do this a few times, partly because it's so cute, and partly because I do like the use of repetition to help teach him things. Tonight I tried to sit him on the potty, fully clothed, and he wasn't quite ready for that...but hey, we have to take baby steps right?

While these little jewels of wisdom he's picking up are probably pretty standard for his age and are just part of growing up, as a first time mom I can't help but be in awe of the fact that he knows stuff (as Joe puts it...). A year ago, he didn't know much. He knew that when he was hungry, he always got some fresh from the farm warm mother's milk. He knew that sometimes he would get some pureed vegetables. And my hope is that he at least knew the feeling of being loved. But he didn't really know much about anything, and watching him learn about our world, even in his sheltered little version of it, is just truly amazing. I thank God everyday for Harlan and all the baby steps we get to take as our family continues to grow in love.