and so it begins

the obsessive attempt to get natey walking and talking. have i heard from the county, you ask? NO. bastard people. so, even though i know we have at least two stupid pushtoy/walker thingies from when jack was a baby buried somewhere in the rubble of our chaotic basement, the prospect of excavating them is not at all attractive to me. surprise, eh? heh. and being the proactive type, the only logical thing for me to do was to go out and spend money. oh, not on me, on a new pushtoy/walker thingie. and it converts to a ride-on toy! whee! those playskool people really know how to work it.

natey totally digs the pushing and stumbling and riding -- who wouldn't? see, i knew that he was ready to walk, he just needed the proper tools. and now i get to feel guilty for not being ready with the pushtoy/walker thingie sooner. ugh. the thing is, he's been a lot like jack with the walking. anytime i'd try to hold jack's hands and get him to walk, he'd go into civil disobedience mode. kid! i'm just trying to help you walk, not kill lab rats! so yeah, i just let him be after many fruitless attempts, and lo and behold! one day he just stood up and walked across the the room. once natey started showing the same don't try to make me walk or i'll cut you behavior, i figured he was on the same path. silly mommy.

the talking thing is going to take a lot more work. he's not so into the "repeat after me" shit, so i'm trying to test his comprehension now. stuff like "where's jack?" or "where's your cup?" if he looks in the right general direction, i'm happy. i'm trying to not get too crazy and research all the bullshit "what your 15-month old should be doing now" stuff, because i know it will not be good. i know, i know, all kids are different and learn at different speeds. you know that's not going to make me feel better! bah. but it's cool -- i don't feel as freaked out and pessimistic as i did the other day. it's a start.