The shortest distance between two points is beef stew

Bo made a delicious, slow cooked beef stew today. All day long, the house has been filled with beef goodness. I waited eight, long, teasing hours to have a gratuitous bowl. I thought, "Hey, I'm going to watch recorded T.V. shows while eating this bowl of stew! Ezra can play while I relax and enjoy. This sounds like a wonderful plan."

As I cozied myself on the couch with my bowl of stew and remote control, Ezra pulled himself up, as always, and cruised around the couch. At one point, he brazenly removed his hands from the couch, looked at me, and smiled a big goofy, giggly grin. And then he took a step. And landed on his bottom.

In an effort to not freak him out (loud emotion, no matter if it's happy, seems to scare him lately), I said "good job!" while containing all kinds of ridiculous motherly pride exaltation deep beneath a thin veneer of calm.  

The first step, I thought was a happy accident, so I went back to my phenomenal meal. With a look of jealousy, Ezra stood up from his fallen spot and took four Frankenstein steps across the floor to get to the bowl of stew in my lap. Determined and fierce, he reached my knees with a huge smile and an agape mouth requesting his fair share of my meal. More quarantining of overjoyed feelings. 

While feeding him a stewed carrot, I couldn't help but think of the scene in Kung Fu Panda when Po completed a perfect split twelve feet off the floor when enticed with cookies. Food is a motivator. For my son, the shortest distance between two points is definitely beef stew. :)

Note to Ezra: Happy walking, buddy! You also climbed all the stairs by yourself, and giggled when you reached the top. Now Mommy and Pops can't turn our backs on you for a second. We will make sure you never forget this. <3