Walking Matthew!

Matthew has taken his first steps...and then some. I was dying to share the good news on the day it happened, but my computer was dead! Here he is walking towards a bunny cage (we were pet-sitting for a friend), then crawling over to see the camera:

I can't get enough of that breathy excitement and big, smiley face. This kid just makes me happy.

Well, a week later, Matthew has had a little more practice and we were able to make a game of it tonight. This clip is towards the end when he was already pretty tired. He wanted lots of hugs from me:

I love, love, love how he walks to Alice and Robert. And having him melt backwards onto me was pretty sweet, too. He did not, however, want to walk to James, even when James was in Bobby's lap. We finally coaxed Matthew to lean forward and stumble well enough that James was convinced it was walking. Whew, no hurt feelings.

I don't blame Matthew for his discerning reluctance. James is kinda rough on the little guy. Half the time he's trying to be mean (e.g. squeezing Matthew's hands or tackling his back half so he can't crawl away or yelling in his face to make him cry), and the other half of the time James is just loving too roughly (big, smothering hugs that knock Matthew over, slamming the bathroom door in his face to keep him away from the toilet, or handing/throwing toys to him and accidentally smacking him). Matthew has developed a special warning grunt/squeal just for James. It's a little like the sound you make when you're starting a new exercise routine with long, slow sit-ups. Nnnnnng-uh.

I just love this little man! Now that he's on the verge of toddlerhood, his hair suddenly looks way too shaggy. Time for his first haircut. You can look for that blog post soon ;)