So, in a pace sooner than expected, Brandon officially took 5-6 steps on his own. He had been flirting with 1 or 2 steps for a couple of weeks but we didn't expect more for a while. Ryan really eggs him on and Brandon after taking those steps will turn in triumph towards me. He loves his accomplishment...you can tell.
Brandon is officially 10 months today! He had a playdate with Sister Hilton and Sister Sammons and our friends Yuri and Kayla in Sheep's Meadow in the afternoon.
We brought a little toy from home - a walker - but we didn't calculate the lightness of it and when Brandon fell backwards, the toy ended up on him. I don't think it hurt - well - maybe his pride? It's been a rough day of knocks for him, but he brushed them off pretty quickly.
Unfortunately, the skies were threatening to open up and pour so we made our way home after a fun afternoon. We made it home before the rain let hoose.
This week's playgroup was at Central Park Zoo - unfortunately - we got there a little late and everyone was heading to the bigger part while Brandon and I were still in the petting zoo so we hung out by ourselves. Brandon loved it! He touched the animals, no fear, though mom probably hated the thought of germy animals...ha ha. He loved being able to cruise along too. We were walking together - me holding his hands when we ran into a ROCK! Actually, it was thrown at Brandon by a 3 year old. It was a 2x2 inch rock and it hit Brandon on the side of the forehead. I can't say that I didn't want to throttle the little kid, but I managed to be civil and walked away before I showed my angry mother bear face. Poor Brandon - when it hit him, he jerked back and looked up at me and started whimpering. He didn't really cry but I could tell it hurt. I wasn't sure where he got hit until I inspected closer and found a growing welt on his forehead. It was a good thing the kid and dad made a beeline for the exit...
We were so glad to get a quick visit from Matt Beecher, who was in town for work. It was a few hours of catch up, food and play and we were glad to have it. Brandon cuddled with Matt, right off the bat. He liked Matt for sure. I wonder what Brandon was thinking being so high off the ground when in the arms of our TALL friend. We had a chance to share some Levain Chocolate Chip cookies before he ran off to his meeting. We parted ways next to the Temple, where we went to place Matt's mom's name on the prayer roll. She could use all our prayers!
It was good to hear how much he loved married life. We hope the best always for Summer and Matt. Looking forward to the Midland Open House in September.
Sam has been here since Friday evening. We picked him up at Penn Station. Amtrak makes kids under 16 wait in the office until someone picks them up. Sam seemed to old for all that, but I'm glad for the safety. He had a great time at CTY - Center for Talented Youth Program in Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University. It was a 3 week program and he seemed to have made a lot of friends and learned so much. It is SO GOOD to see him. He has the magic touch with Brandon and it was amazing how comfortable he was with Sam almost immediately.
