Babies!
I love babies and I know I'm not the only one who loves babies to the moon and back.
Babies are one of God's greatest gifts to humankind. The whole process of bringing a child into the world is a blessing and the joy continues even after birth.
I'm not a parent yet, but I believe it's utterly wonderful watching the birth of a child and watching the child grow up strong and healthy and full of life.
MY EXPERIENCE
I have two nieces and one nephew and I can proudly say that I have been there watching them grow up healthy and strong and it has been a wonderful experience for me.
I lived with my sister when she was pregnant with my niece from the first months of her pregnancy up to the time she delivered successfully and even afterwards. Which means, I was present during the times a baby undergoes a significant change in behavior and mannerisms that signal growth and I was there when my lovely niece took her first steps.
My niece didn't just get up and began to walk all of a sudden, it was gradual and it was beautiful to watch.
When she started to crawl, she was very happy crawling and she'd crawl around the house and run after everyone in the house on all fours and at a point most of the heavy furniture had to be put away in order for her to have enough space to crawl around the house freely without getting hurt or getting stuck somewhere or hiding in a place where it'd be difficult to find her.
She did that once and it was quite traumatizing searching for a little baby all around the house only to find her in a cupboard covered in powdered milk and looking scared as well.
To prevent that from repeating itself, the cupboard and the cabinets remained locked at all times.
As time went on, I could see her trying to walk/run after us especially when she demanded to be carried and cuddled. She'd crawl and then seem to realize that crawling wouldn't get anyone's attention, so she'd try to walk and it did get our attention because anytime she managed to get herself up on her feet, she'd laugh and laugh and laugh and I guess it was her feeling giddy with the idea of doing something new.
Even though she'd fall down on her bum again, she'd keep laughing and try to stand up again and when she stood on her feet, her laughter would increase.
Her laughter is infectious and it has always made me laugh along with her even though I have no idea of why she's laughing most of the time.
That became a pattern for her every time she tried to walk or stand on her legs, her giddy laughter would burst out and immediately I'd know she's trying out her legs to see if they work.
During that phase, she never actually took a step. She'd just hold on to something for balance and then raise herself up from her crawl and then she'd let go of either the leg of a chair or table or couch or door, anything in particular that helped her maintain balance while she tried to stand and then she'd stand on her own for a few seconds laughing hysterically before falling back down to the floor, laughing happily.
It was really beautiful to watch and I got to laugh along with her too.
The day she finally walked is a day I won't forget in a long time.
It was a sunny afternoon and the living room had been cleared of most of the furniture and as usual she was playing with her toys in the center of the living room. I was keeping an eye on her while I was reading a book, just in case.
It seemed to me she was really focused on the castle she was building because of the serious expression she had on her face the whole time and as long as she was focused there'd be less ruckus all around the house.
One of the blocks fell from the castle and rolled, rolled out of the living room and she wasn't able to reach it unless she crawled to it.
I was expecting her to crawl, honestly.
But she didn't.
She sat still in silence for a moment, staring hard at the castle block as if expecting it to roll back to her with that serious expression still on her face and I was already getting up to go help her pick it when she got up from her spot on the floor without any help and she wobbled to where the castle block lay and wobbled back after picking it.
My scream of joy startled everyone in the house but was soon forgotten when she stood up again and wobbled to where another of her toys lay, all the while laughing happily.
Lots of pictures and videos were taken of her wobbling around the living room that day and it was utterly amazing. Seeing her get up, wobble around then fall back on her bum and then repeat it all over again with her big smile in place was just amazing and I am so happy thinking about it at this moment.