Milestones

I have two pages left in Justin's baby book that I haven't completed yet. One is his tooth chart, because of my little oops with which teeth were coming in. I have a new chart now and I hope to finish it soon. The other one is his milestones page. Of course I have to wait for him to achieve the milestones before I can include them in the chart: rolling over, walking, saying his first word, first haircut. He has most of them but those two biggies: walking and talking. The cute scrapbooking set I bought has adorable stickers to decorate the pages to mark those momentous occasions, but I can't use them yet. I don't want the book to linger and have pictures of him at two or three when he reaches those milestones. And I don't feel bad that he isn't there yet (Ok, my BACK feels bad that he's not there yet, but that's it...) but I feel like there have been so many milestones that he has reached that deserve recognition in his book.

It was the most incredibly liberating feeling the first time we went out to eat as a family and I did not take any special food for Justin. Nothing. His bib and drinking cup, and that's it. We went to a Mexican restaurant and I knew that if nothing else he would eat at least one of the kinds of beans we would be served. I felt like the biggest weight was lifted off my shoulders knowing we could decide on a whim to go out to eat and I wouldn't have to run to a grocery store to buy a jar of food for Justin. Justin ate 2 plates full of refried beans and he loved every minute of it. The next day was not so good when they had to come out, but that's another story.

And his first kid's meal at Chick-fil-A. He ate all the chicken nuggets and a lot of the french fries. Without much help. A major milestone for me!

One of my biggest problems is that Justin cannot eat in the car by himself. I know that's kind of bad, since I know some of my friends don't allow food to be eaten in their cars at all, but there are times that there is just no time to eat while sitting at the table. So, the first time Justin ate french fries that Travis handed him it was awesome. Too cool! Justin did so well eating them and I felt relieved. Another baby step, but significant.

And the cupcake incident that I related last week. No words, but communication! That's just as important to me. His ability to point is crucial too. He can point to what he wants and he is very good at shaking his head "no" when we get it wrong, and fortunately he is still very patient with us when we do.

The first time he held on when I was holding him. Hugging me so tightly I thought my heart would melt. That was a moment I want recorded on paper the same way it's imprinted on my heart. Now it's the way when he's sitting on my lap facing me that he slides his arms under mine and around and hugs me, laying his head on my chest and looking up at me with those huge blue eyes. That's worth more than a thousand steps to me right now.

Justin's book is filled with stories of heart surgery, pictures of him tucked into the corner of the couch, and the moments of pure joy when we felt like the family God meant us to be. I might leave room for more of the "traditional" milestones, but I think I am going to include some of my own. They are what make Justin who he is and that's what I want his book to reflect.