Every new Mom and Dad dream of this moment: baby bravely lets go of Daddy and proudly takes a few unsteady, but independent steps towards Mommy, who catches her smiling son in a big embrace. Oh, and of course the film crew is there to professionally capture the moment. Just like that.
Here's what really happened: we were waiting for supper. Jonah was tired and cranky, so I distracted him by walking him around the house. We picked up his popper along the way, so he was pushing that. Usually, I hold one of his hands and hold the toy steady so that it offers him some additional support. Tonight, I found that I could let go and he would hold the popper up and keep it going. Wow!
Daddy crouched down right in Jonah's path. A few steps back, I let Jonah go and he toddled/fell three steps into Daddy, popper and all! Jonah was so mad at Mommy for letting go, like a kid who becomes terrified when he realizes his parent is no longer holding the bike. We were so proud and gushing with praise, but Jonah didn't seem to realize his momentous accomplishment. He was crying big, mad, tired tears. He was so upset, in fact, that he hardly realized what he was doing when he later let go of Daddy to take a couple steps back over to Mommy!
The next try yielded a very memorable result. Daddy let go and left Jonah standing in the middle of the room, with Mommy a couple steps ahead. Jonah's eyes got huge and his lips pulled back in a classic, over-dramatized textbook expression of fear. Adorable.
