Hot Wheels

Thomas, at eight months has his first set of wheels. My sister brought them over about two weeks ago. After a week or two of trial and error, he finally got the gist of it last weekend and has been perfecting his skills.

I guess its official name is Baby Walker, I call it the Flinstone Mobile. Thomas started out following Heidi around the kitchen, taking his time, getting a feel for his new mobility. The apprehension of the first couple days has melted away and the daredevil is beginning to shine through. He, like his father before him and his father before him has a taste for speed.

There also seems to be an inclination towards sudden deceleration, you know smashing into things. His favorites are, Heidi, either dog, brother, sister, dishwasher or stove. Its cute the first time, but becomes annoying very quickly.

Another behavior this new found mobility facilitates is his ability to wash everything he puts in his mouth in the dogs water bowl. This is messy, and can not be sanitary, he does seem to really enjoy it though. When we notice we close the doors, the water bowl is in a closet in the kitchen, but he always seems to get a few splashes in.

My personal, most favorite, daringest trick, that he is still trying to master, is the jump. Our kitchen is raised up say six inches from the living room on one end and Heidi's office on the other. The Flinstone Mobile has to be lined up perfect to get through the door into the living room, he never gets through clean. Heidi's office is wide open, there is running room to get up a good head of speed, perfect conditions for air time.

The little fella stares down the runway, collects his thoughts and courage and then goes for it. As his speed increases, his stare becomes more focused, the determination is evident. All eyes in the room are on him. Then the take off, the front wheels leave the safety of earth, and immediately drop to the floor below hanging him up. He is stuck, little legs swinging in the air, rear wheels on the landing above. The humiliation, stuck, luckily his big brother David is more than happy to nudge him over the edge.

I bet it happens three or four times a day. Some day he will be successful, he just can't give up, don't ever give up, one day you will experience the thrill of airtime.