July 29 = First Steps Day

With the integration of so much technology in our lives, I think parenting has changed a little bit.  Every generation has a new challenge to deal with that the generation before didn't.  Technology isn't new but the prevalence of it in our lives is new- one challenge my peers and I face is taking advantage of technology but keeping it in check.  Yes, we want to document important milestones but if you watch every milestone through the screen on your phone, you miss out on real life that's happening right in front of you.  So- for Malia's first steps- I knew they were coming and the temptation to grab the phone and get a video (especially since Zachary wasn't home to see them) was there but I decided to just enjoy the moment.  That's when it is awesome to have a thoughtful mother-in-law who has a quick mind and was able to snap a screenshot of our FaceTime session!  Even though Zachary wasn't there to see it, it was so awesome that Grandma and Pops were able to see them.  So see- it's important to take advantage of technology- living far away from our families, we are so blessed to have FaceTime- Liam and Malia have great relationships with their grandparents and while all four grandparents make a lot of effort to come up and see them as often as they can I think we can thank FaceTime a little bit for bringing them even closer.

I think Malia's first steps came today because she got a lot of practice walking with the help of holding on to the chair as she chased Liam around it.  These two were being so silly, walking and crawling around the chair, laughing and laughing at each other and themselves.  It was so very funny.

Another funny thing that happened today- we have a nightlight outside of Malia's room so that when we walk around upstairs at night we don't have to turn a light on to see where we're going.  However- this nightlight is, for some reason, so appealing to my children.  Both of them yank it out of the outlet as often as they can.  Today Liam got to it, threw it down the stairs, and on his own, said, "No, no Liam."  What a nut.