if the shoe fits

m. wore actual shoes for the first time today. he has been walking for a few weeks now, barefoot. however, you throw shoes into the mix and it is a whole new story. he did seem to pick it up quickly and was running in no time. granted the top half of him often gets where he is going first if you catch my drift. he was a good sport about it though and would bring me his shoes if they fell off so i could put them back on. it was so cute to see him in f.'s very first pair of actual shoes. i will try to post video soon.

granny surprised us with a visit today and since it was about 68 degrees out we took a picnic to the park. it was the first time m&k did anything at the park other than literally hang in swings or their strollers. k., even though he can't walk yet, was all over the place. he wanted to try it all out. he was climbing through tunnels, going down slides, using steering wheels, climbing stairs - you named it he was more than game for it. m., on the other hand, was very timid about trying new things. he was even reduced to tears after going down the slide and would cling to granny anytime it appeared that she was going to have him try another "fun" thing.

i left the park thinking how this was exactly the opposite of what i would have predicted of my children. k. is more often the timid one and takes a lot longer to warm up than m. when i am offered help carting the two of them places i will normally let the helper take m. because k. would have a panic attack if i let someone else carry him somewhere - even though i am in plain sight. i learned a valuable lesson today. i am going to make more of an effort not to force my kids into what i think their personality allows. rather i will let them decide if the shoe fits.