Wobbly Warner

I can remember when Christian and Tanner were just 18-months-old, sitting on a bench at Bushmaster park. The two of them were tackling the climber, one on the rope ladder, the other on the monkey ladder, while I sat on my hands hoping for their success. They were both doing an amazing job despite being so little. A fellow park goer sat on the bench next to me.

"Those are your boys?" she asked.

"Yup."

"I'm amazed you can just sit here and watch them."

"Do I really have any other choice?"

I went on to explain how I had spent the better part of that morning trying to spot each one as they climbed. But of course, they didn't want to climb the same thing, and one would be on one end of the climber and the other on the other end. I soon realized that it was impossible to prevent all possibility of injury and decided that reality was the better teacher . . . teaching them that if your foot slips off a ladder rung you'd better figure out how to get your feet back on it just as soon as possible.

All of the "bits" are climbers, but no one has matched C&T until little Warner came along. At 9 months, when we wasn't yet crawling, I caught him climbing up to the top of the staircase. At 10 months, he learned how to pull himself UP onto our bed. At 11 months I found him on the top bunk just hollering for someone to help him down. He now scales up and down the ladder at least two or three times a day. I've found him climbing bookcases, benches, couches. in and out of the tub, and into his crib.

Funny how he's never gotten hurt climbing . . . but yesterday while he was just racing through C&T's room he tripped on a blanket and fell on Tanner's recorder (flute). Bulls eye. It was an immediate goose egg.