Thursday, December 4, 2008

Practice Makes Progress

That's what I always tell the kids in my class. No one is ever perfect, but the harder we try and the more effort we put in, the better we'll get at something. That's what I've had to tell myself about Nolan's mobility these days. It's easy for me to worry about why he isn't crawling or get frustrated when he is totally content to sit and play in the same place. Only now I think he's starting to get a bit bored playing with the same old toys. So I try to mix up his day with things like outings, reading, tummy time, standing and playing at the ottoman or Playschool interactive table, playing basketball at his mini hoop, and emptying and putting toys back into his basket.

Nolan has a busy schedule and homework each day! Our hard work and practice must be paying off, because, however small this may seem, he is making some progress in movement. He is now sliding and pushing backwards with his hands on his belly- mostly on the wood floor, a bit on the carpet. It is very slow going and he gets a bit unhappy when it doesn't come easy, but he does discover fun things along the way, which keeps him pushing. Like the heat register or the curtains...really fun stuff!

I know that he has a lot of weight to haul around and that the doctor tells me that crawling really isn't a milestone, but as a mom, I guess you just really want your child to do what most other babies their age are doing. So we'll just keep practicing and praying and praising God for health and for all the amazing stuff Nolan is doing! Like copying me, pointing to things that I say- the Christmas tree, lights, the clock "tick-tock", waving bye-bye, and whispering back and forth. He is such a fun boy and I am LOVING being a stay at home mom. I guess I just can't shake the teacher in me- or maybe I'm just a bit of a control freak! I'm learning to let go and trust that God is in control.

The video below is of Nolan's slow and steady progress. A few clips of the half an hour it took him to move about 10 feet total! I didn't get a lot of the action because every time he knew I was filming he would stop moving and start fussing for me to help him. So it's not terribly exciting, but I'm so proud! We celebrate the small things at our house!

4 comments:

Dave and Tara Harris said...

Believe me, count yourself as lucky that he doesn't care much about moving around!!! He eventually will and there will be no stopping him! He is so cute. It was so sad to watch him try to reach for his cheerios and couldn't! I wanted to help him out and scoot it closer to him!!! lol

It's fun to see how different all babies are from one another and to see their personalities come through by their milestones! You seem to have a very nice and easy-going little boy!!! Just watch, your next baby will be super early on crawling and walking and running.....and you will look back at this and wish those days back!!! I am glad to hear that you are enjoying being a stay at home mom!!!! I bet Nolan is loving it too!

Jill Sloothaak said...

aren't puffs the best? it seems like forever since we've had those in the house, but we did go through a lot of them at one point!
i can't wait to see trey and nolan interact in a few weeks. it will be fun to watch them play together and be the best buddies that we know they are!! :)

KerriLiu said...

Yeah! Go Nolan! Thanks for posting the video :) I love seeing his cute little face...and also getting to hear all your hilarious jokes:) I'm laughing from Chicago :)

Anonymous said...

Can't wait to have Nolan moving backwards in IL, among the cats! Do you have any idea how you are going to get all Nolan's Christmas and birthday presents home?
Love, Grammy