1st Balloon

When I was pregnant with Little R, I thought a lot about his or her (we did not know the gender) firsts.  I wondered what things such as the first bath, the first tooth, the first steps, and the first birthday would be like.  However, there are so many other firsts that happen to a child that I never even thought about.  Things like the first balloon!

Yesterday, we were in Publix, and when we were checking out, Little R was, as usual, enthralled with the big balloons at the front of the store.  The lady who was bagging our groceries was trying to interact with Little R, but he was so taken with the balloons that she did not even have a chance.  Finally, she asked me if he could have a balloon, and I told her "yes."  I tied the string to the buggy, and the biggest smile crossed Little R's face.  He began to pull the string and watch the balloon come down to his face.  He thought it was so funny (for a while), and then he seemed annoyed that the balloon kept hitting him in the face.  When we got home, I tied the balloon to his high chair, and he enjoyed playing with it again while he was eating dinner yesterday.

It was so funny to watch Little R discover a balloon through a 9 month old's eyes.  It was like you could see the wheels turning, "How come when I pull this green string, this big orange ball hits me in the face?"  I love "discovering" the world through a baby's eyes.  It has made me more appreciative of things that I have deemed "commonplace" for quite some time.  Little, green blades of grass are really fascinating when you stop to look at the fibers that compose them.  The little brown thing at the end of a piece of pine straw is pretty cool when you take the time to study it.  And, the helium that keeps an orange Publix balloon in the air is still a mystery to me (I never was that great at chemistry.)  God's amazing beauty and complexity are all around us.  Sometimes, it just takes the eyes of a 9 month old to be able to see it!!!!