Simply Life: Walking!

She is 13 months and she is walking, not perfectly but the ground moves beneath her little feet and her cushy bum catches her falls. She is so proud of herself and carries a sweet smile much more than before.
I can tell both JJ and I are in for a real treat. Yesterday, we went to an Indian Pow-wow, which was just beautiful, Amazing wanted out of the sling so she could walk and explore. She found the rocks to be the most interesting. Keeping her eyes to the ground to watch her feet move she wanted to pick up each and everyone. To see the beauty in the simple pebbles that cover pathways is peculiar to me to, I'm so thankful that she showed this to me again. She looks at each rock so carefully.

We took her to a lake nearby so that JJ and I could enjoy some time together holding hands and walking side by side. We walked for about 1 mile and Mazi was about to jump out of the sling again so JJ put her on the ground and she walked about 1/2 mile holding his hand and moving very very slow with her wee little baby steps. Feeling her balance with each step. She brought a baby doll that she held tightly and used to balance her every movement. It is fascinating to watch her learn this movement I don't even think about. I have taken for granted the idea that I too had to learn this skill.

We are born so helpless, so vulnerable. I find it strange how we lack all control of ourselves at birth and we go through a stage of learning these skills one after another in such a short amount of time, then as adults we stop thinking about it and we move or react without being mindful or thinking about how our bodies move and behave. I admire Mazi's awareness about herself already. I really want to try and help her keep that awareness as she grows into an adult.

She even had to stop and poop and she did just that. She stopped, looked and her Dad and I, squatted and made a fart sound with her mouth as she signaled that she was pooping, yes talking about pooping has become such a beautiful thing as I teach my baby to recognize when her body is releasing its toxins and waste, it is no secret in our household, we all watch each other do it and Mazi has caught on almost perfectly. When she walks fully on her own I plan to nail it in a few days time.

Today was a perfect fall day. I took Mazi to the harvest farmers market and got a nice selection of winter squash, sweet potato, green beans, apples and last bit of tomatoes. There were many vendors with fun varieties of pumpkins and gourds. We admired all the shapes, colors, and sizes these come in. If only I could have a hand in the growing process of all these, I would love that experience.

Mazi of course wanted to walk through the market and show off her walking skills, she would wave at everyone she could, I joined her at waving and got some funny faces looking at us as we walked down the rows as if we were in a parade.

Tonight was a full moon, and such a powerful one too. It feels brighter than the last few. I sat outside this evening with Mazi and JJ, breathing the crisp cool fall air. I wrapped Mazi up in a warm blanket and swung her on the hammock as we gazed at the moonlight. I listened to JJ talk, then I gave my gratitude to the full moon and felt such a warmth of gratitude for my sleeping child warm on my breast. She has lived for 13 full moons now and her journey is just beginning.