A co-worker of mine has a 3.5 year old girl and a 10 week old boy. She’s coming back to work on Thursday and invited Larry, Walker and me for dinner. I figured we go over and have some pizza (perhaps gourmet pizza knowing her good taste) but we were treated to a FANTASTIC homemade lasagna (with homemade pasta), farm-fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella and basil, and the most scrumptious chocolate chip cookies with a dash of kosher salt (it’s true, it really does bring out the taste). Not only was I shocked at the meal but I was astonished to find that Walker loves tomato and was interested in mozzarella. Devon was very good to Walker and shared her toys (as much as a 3.5 year old may be expected to). Walker’s favorite was the sit-and-spin. At 7:15 Walker promptly informed us that it was time to leave. He dug into his bag to get the baggie where we keep his pacifier. It also had some crackers in it earlier in the day — he prefers Multi-Grain Club crackers — so the paci was covered in cracker crumbs. Two of his favorite things at once. And the crackifier was born. He was in heaven.
Did I mention Walker is walking on his own? Oh, silly me. I must have been distracted by the homemade cookies that were packed up for us and are now lovingly placed at my side by my adoring husband. But back to the walking. Yes, Walker is ambling on his very own. This first real steps were yesterday morning after a brisk morning walk/run with Mommy (Walker rode in his Jeep stroller listening to the Barenaked Ladies). Daddy was watching Walker while Mommy got cleaned up and just as I was about to get presentable, Walker started toddling down the hall. We’ve been waiting for this day with cameras at our fingertips and ironically, we couldn’t snap photos because I was, well, unpresentable. We knew folks would want to see this incredible milestone so we went to the playground and let him walk around on a nice cushy surface.
Yesterday was a very big day. Walker also got his first haircut. I resisted this for some time but every morning he’d sit in his highchair and pull his hair out to the sides as if to say, “Mommy, I just can’t think with all this HAIR.” After doing some research, I decided to take Walker to Kids Cuts where he could be groomed by professionals with little-kid experience. And they have chairs in the shape of race cars, so how could we resist? We went in and there was a little boy about 2.5 who was SCREAMING at the top of his lungs, face wet with tears and beet red. His Daddy was sitting in the chair (a regular chair, not a car chair) holding him and he was not calmed. Walker didn’t know what to make of it but he went in and played with the toys they have in the waiting area. When it was his turn, he got in the car chair (covered with hundreds of stickers), had the little smock put around him and sat quietly as the hair dresser used the clippers to get the length off and then shaped his handsome locks with the shears. Walker played with a toy and didn’t look happy but certainly wasn’t upset. He seemed to sit and reserve judgment. The whole process took no more than 7 minutes. Walker had a very handsome haircut. We got his hair in a little handmade envelope with a Batman sticker. There were tears, but they were Mommy’s.
In the “marketing run amok” file, I have to mention that this morning when I was feeding the fish, I noticed one of the benefits of the fish food we use is that the fish get important Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Gosh. I’m glad to know that. I wouldn’t have bought that brand of fish meal otherwise. My 25 cent goldfish deserve the best.
Walker, Larry and I spent Saturday at Fort Point – an old garrison under the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s one of our favorite places to go because it’s so pretty and old and unknown despite its location under one of the most well-known landmarks in the world. It was even more special on Saturday when all the local Civil War re-enactors filled the Fort and conducted routines of the time like marching and playing the band. It was soooooo windy and cold in the Fort but just outside it was calm and warmer. I would have hated to be stationed there. But Walker thought it was fascinating to see folks marching around and he loved when the band came and they beat on the big drums and played the bugle and the piccolos. Larry enjoyed speaking with the sharpshooter and the doctor about the tools of the time. There was this sweet little boy who was getting into the re-enacting at an early age and he took special interest in our Walker –- making sure his coat was zipped up (made sure to ask Daddy if it was OK for him to zip up his jacket) and talking to him as Walker inspected the troops.
This was only one of many high points for the weekend. Walker has been very, very mobile. He crawls over to his walker and takes a few spins around the house, banging the walker into walls and then backing up and straightening out so he can proceed as planned. It’s really rather impressive. And he’s wicked fast with that thing. He also likes to cruise around the house holding our hands. We’re certainly getting our exercise and it’s clear he is going to be walking all on his own soon. There were moments when he had one hand on the walker and was facing us, looking like he had every intention of leaving the walker behind to toddle over to us. Then, at the very last second, he dropped to his knees and crawled over. Clearly, he’s looking for the right incentive to assert his independence. But this morning something was different. He did a few spins around the house with Daddy and maneuvered his way into the bathroom. The two of them watched me as I was preparing for work. Then I hear Larry behind me saying, “Look! Look! Look!” and just as I turn around, Walker lets go of Daddy’s hand and took two and a half steps toward me before falling to his knees. Yup, it’s begun. Walking on his own (and dealing with the bumps and bruises and cuts and scrapes that come along with the learning process). Our Baby is now a Toddler.
Speaking of eating, PopPop is flabbergasted at the amount Walker eats. He stayed for dinner last weekend and witnesses the dinner of 2 Mommy fistfulls of Cheerios, 5 mini-meatballs, a few cubes of cheese, frozen peas, 10 grapes (cut in half), some blueberries, and a sippey-cup of milk. (For lunch we substitute the cheese and meatballs for half a quesidilla and for breakfast we lose the peas and have an egg.) Sofiya asked us not to feed him so much for breakfast because he likes to eat Kashi with the rest of the kids when he arrives but generally he’s too stuffed. So, this morning we tried to keep breakfast to a minimum but it wasn’t easy. There was a lot of “Eh! Eh!” and pointing to the counter for more of whatever Mommy was preparing (which was a salad for lunch but Walker got some more watermelon which won’t be as filling).
Other than developing the usual convention ailments, SDCC was very good to us. Larry had a new book out called 
We also had the opportunity to announce a deal we’ve done with Disney to have a feature film created based on 
Now, on to Walker news. He’s doing a lot more walking with his little push cart and has gotten great at maneuvering it around. For example, when he veers into the wall or a doorway he exclaims “Uh oh,” swings it in a different direction, and continues on his way. We’re also making it a point to make him walk holding our hands. He’s not been asking us for help on his own and so we’ve decided it’s time for him to understand that walking is the preferred method of locomotion and we can assist him with reaching this milestone. He’s also doing a bit more standing on his own. We trick him by getting him to stand and then to clap his little hands. After a few seconds, he’ll realize his ability to balance is the only thing keeping him upright and he’ll grab at the nearest stationary object.
