March Madness has officially hit our household, and with it comes the 24-7 onslaught of SportsCenter, bracket updates and game recaps. I have actually been more into the tournament this year, despite the fact that I know nothing about college hoops.
J invited me to join his office pool. He knows I pick my teams based on colors, mascots and occasionally a little eenie-meenie-miney-mo, a methodology which I’m sure, in his mind, has the words “easy money” written all over it. Little could he (or anyone) predict the barrage of upsets that occurred in this year’s tournament which, I say with a little smugness, worked out quite well in my favor for the first few rounds. (Side note: My smugness has since faded, as I am now tied for 38 out of 42 participants. I did get to gloat over my husband for one glorious week but, sadly, it was short-lived).
On the kid front, March Madness has taken on a slightly different meaning. Chippy officially started walking this past week.
He’s actually been taking a few steps here and there for the past few weeks, but this week, it’s as if he’s a little man on a mission. I have to say, the drunken zombie gait that he’s got going on is pretty cute. And the expression of pride and glee as he totters across the kitchen floor is nothing short of priceless. There have been some major adjustments, though, as we’ve had to keep an eagle eye on his movements. The diaper pail, stairs, toilet and bathtub have taken on a whole new interest when viewed from a different perspective.
It’s funny how, with Bobo, we couldn’t wait for her to begin walking. We cheered and oohed over every small step, and encouraged her with every chance we could get to try to walk into our arms.
With Chip, I have approached the walking thing with a bit more trepidation. While I obviously haven’t discouraged him from walking, I certainly haven’t been as vigorous in my encouragement. I figured the little guy would walk when he was ready, and if that was later rather than sooner, I wouldn’t complain.
We knew when we had our second child that the double-teaming, 2 parent guarding 1 kid freedom we had enjoyed would likely come to an abrupt halt. Up until this point, we have actually been able to skate this better than I thought. Chip has always been active, but containable, and he and Bobo would happily play with their toys while one of us kept an eye on them. Now that he is walking, though, my little zombie boy will wander off to all corners of the house with amazing speed.
As of this week, we are officially, unequivocally, now playing a man-on-man defense.
And so, a new adventure has begun. One small step from Chip; one giant leap towards the babyproofing supplies from mom and dad.
It definitely makes me glad we’ve decided to stick with just the two kiddos. Man-on-man we can do; I’m pretty sure I’m not cut out for a zone defense configuration.
