He stands

He crawls to the dining room chair and pulls himself up to standing. He pats the wood surface with the soft palm of his hand. He stands there looking from right to left, observing this vantage point of the living room. This is his favorite way to position himself. He pulls up to anything and everything he can. He’s even tried it on moving legs. He learned that lesson the hard way.

This morning, after he grows tired of standing erect with his palm on that dining room chair, he pushes himself back from it a little and bends a bit at the knee, preparing to sit.

Only he doesn’t sit.

His knees bend, but those little quadricep muscles hold him up in a levitated squat. His two arms extend from his body and wave at the air. Chris is standing right behind him, helping Z get her shoes on. I am over to the side of him lacing up my own shoes, getting ready to take them both to daycare. Both of us see it.

He stands on his own for FIVE WHOLE SECONDS. Five very long seconds where Chris and I forget to breath. Because we are both in awe of our Lil’ Man, who is standing on his own for the first time.

Off to the side, Z has her little arms folded across her chest, and she’s thinking, “what’s the big deal? I’ve been doing that for a year and a half.”