Day 1 of freedom

Day 1 of freedom! I won't keep track of the days, but I had to at least start with a new number!

Today was such a fun day to re-experience normal life with Ethan. It's funny how everyday things (i.e. walking) take on new excitement when lived through the life of a former body cast toddler. So Ethan got to see his friend Cory today, and as soon as he saw Cory walking and playing, Ethan had motivation to start crawling. I went to show Cory the cars in the living room, and I started to hear some scurrying across the floor. I looked in the kitchen and saw Ethan crawling across the floor! It was such a heart warming experience for me to see him move around again. He later tried to stand up with shaky legs, and he held onto the couch and stood for a minute. Then he got tired and buried his head in the carpet! I was ecstatic... I had imagined me having to hold him all the time and go get every toy for him.

Next peice of good news, he took a real nap! He woke up a few times crying but fell back asleep pretty quickly. I haven't enjoyed a nap (besides me holding him in a rocking chair) in almost 6 weeks! I didn't know what to do with myself. Wait, I did know what to do with myself. I love sacred nap times.

He had his normal grumpy period after his nap and most of supper. We ate at the Woodard's house while Jared went to give a sermon at Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) on the UGA campus. Ethan was a little pill for the first hour or so, and was really attached to me. But by the end of the night he was smiling, giggling, and... WALKING! Alice would hold his hands and he began taking steps. He started out real shaky but by the end of the time his steps were much more planted and strong. This was such a suprise and joy for me. Ethan didn't crawl until 12 months and waited to walk until 15 months. He has always done things a little bit more slowly than other kids, so this made me think he might be slow to start back the whole movement process. But turns out he was anxious to move!

I remembered tonight what Ethan's name means. Honestly, Jared and I just really liked the name Ethan. It turns out lots of other Americans do too as it is one of the top 5 baby names of 2009. It is a Hebrew name, and the name 'Ethan' appears in the Bible 8 times, and Ethan is the writer of Psalm 89. His name means "steadfast, strong, enduring." We have prayed that Ethan would live up to his name, and it hit me tonight that these past 5.5 weeks are part of his story in becoming a strong, enduring, and steadfast man. Who knows what God has planned for his future, but it has been a neat picture of endurance as Ethan lived in solid piece of plaster that went up to his armpits since January 3rd.

There are really so many neat things that we have reflected on as Jared and I have talked about this experience. We both have learned a lot. A few to mention: In December we had talked about how life had been so busy, and we felt like we were neglecting the few important things that mattered. Well, this experience forced us to slow down and spend time on the really important things in life. We were together as a family a lot, we learned to pray a lot, and we got to reconnect with people in our lives that we had lost touch with. So that is a big answer to prayer. We got to see the church and neighbors really support us by feeding us! that was a HUGE blessing. I still have meals in the freezer to enjoy because of their practical love. We got to spend time with our parents as both sets came and spent the weekend with us. We enjoyed every possible cartoon rental at the movie store. Really. There was a lot of good that came out of this. I don't mean to sound pollyanna about the whole thing... I wouldn't necessarily want to go back through it and I should post a picture of what I looked like a lot nights when I was just desperate for sleep and was in tears. But I really feel grateful tonight, so I'll go with that.

Last thing. I had been really bored and tired of parenting in December. It's a hard month anyway because its busy, but I was especially struggling with how to enjoy my time with Ethan when he grunts a lot and kicks when he's mad. It's funny because this past month and half has been such a good time to bond with Ethan. We got lots of sweet time in the rocking chair, and because I held him a lot we became quite attached. Now that we are back to normal life, I feel like I can watch him crawl, and hopefully walk with new appreciation. I know he will soon be kicking again, and although we need to discipline him not to lash out in tantrums, I hope to remember that at least I have a little boy who can kick. Today was fun to see Ethan play with his toys without needing me to pick up each one for him. It's little stuff like that you can't fully appreciate until it's taken away. The newness of it will surely wear off, but I hope a piece of it stays with me. I think it will. If not, I will just go back and look at the pictures and then feel my massive left arm muscle. Then I will remember.

That's all. I'm thankful for a lot tonight. Some days are bad days and some days are good. Today was good.