Kerthump

One thing I didn't expect at this stage for Luke is the number of times he would be getting hurt. Somehow I thought that when he was LEARNING to walk would be the time that he would be bumping, tripping, falling, and crying. That wasn't the case for us. Sure, he fell down when learning to walk, but really that was more just a plop on the bottom.

Now, five months later, he falls all the time. He tries to do more stepping over things and bypassing barriers. He's pushing his toys faster and ending up with a face full of Handle Hauler (a toy truck). He backs up into cabinets and wall and hits his head. Then he goes forward and does the EXACT SAME THING on purpose.

He pitched forward onto concrete curbs in California because he was convinced he could run down a steep hill, and fell off the curbs at the park as he tried to imitate an older boy walking and balancing.

He reached for his blanket while sitting (unstrapped, way to go Mom!) in his chair, and while I caught him his head hit the table leg.

Daycare reports that they're trying to teach him not to run in the classroom, because he likes to run fill tilt into the door.

We're fortunate that he's a tough kid and most of these events don't phase him, and even more fortunate that he doesn't bruise easily so we're not assumed to be beating him. He's an active active child, and I love it, because he gets me moving.

Daycare also commented that he makes a lot of noise for a small person, and that got me to thinking about what we do at home. We do a lot of chase-downs and tickles and playing together on the floor as a family. There is a lot of screaming and I don't tell him to be quiet. One of my favorite little games with him is foot stomping - I stomp in some ludicrous imitation of tap dancing and his stomps right along with me. We flip him upside down and hang him there, and I exagerratingly bounce as we walk down the stairs. When he yells in babble, I often yell right back to get a happy baby grin.

How much of Luke being active, loud, and physical is from the way we play with him?