Comparing

In all my education I've always known that parents aren't supposed to compare their kids to others. I did really well at this until Q was about 6 months old and we found out he had a muscle delay. The next 7 months were spent in therapy and trying to catch him up with his developmental milestones. I think that started the comparison bit that is hard to stop. I KNOW that all kids develop at different rates and it's a marvelous time watching with delight when something new comes around.

On that note, one of Q's 'closest-in-age' cousins that we see fairly often is George - the wild man. I think I heard that his brother calls him destructo-boy and he scares his mom to death several times a day. Granted, we KNOW that George has an older brother to learn from and follow which helps a lot of 'not-first-born' kids hit their milestones quicker. However, over the past year or so we've been flabbergasted to see all the things that George does that Q does not. And when Q does finally do something George did, we often say he's catching up with George. This week was one of those weeks. Side note: Ian keeps showing/teaching Q to do boy things that are not necessarily great, like writing on himself with the bathtub markers, and...

On Saturday Ian pulled all the soft pillows and cushions down and put them on the floor for Q to jump onto - off the couch. (he's finally at the gross-motor developmental level to be able to do this) Of course Q absolutely LOVED this and had a blast. What boy or even child wouldn't? And he is definitely ALL rough and tough boy. They had a great time. I think it started with us holding his hands to steady him on his way down, but he quickly worked to independence. The most painful part was actually getting on the couch. He'd climb the stool over the arm and kept whacking his head into the board on the back of the couch!

Well, Monday came around and Q decided it was time to do it again and set it up himself. I looked over and saw him pulling the cushions off all by himself (these cushions are about twice his size!) and proceed to jump off. He did this off and on throughout the evening. A few hours after he got home Daddy wanted to sit down comfortably so he put the cushions and pillows back. Did that phase Q? Heck no. Here's our George moment: Q continued to jump off the couchonto the floor for at least 20 minutes! He didn't care that his leg kept catching on the side (forcing a side split) and it'd bounce him onto his side, or that he continuously landed on his shins. He just smiled from ear to ear and ran to climb and do it again. When he finally took a break he was damp with sweat! Ian and I just stared and laughed at our crazy boy. Largest benefit of this newfound fun, you ask? He used up all his energy and we don't! What a blessing that little kids are made out of rubber!

I apologize for lack of pictures/video. When I finally pulled the camera out the battery was dead and Q was done. I'll try to catch it next time.