Rick Castle loved this sort of party a lot. Yeah, he loved the big noisy parties, like the party they threw for Lily's first birthday a week ago. Their family and friends, dressed up as their favorite Star Wars characters in order to celebrate their Star Wars baby's day. It was fun, the guests had a blast, and no-one was hungry when they left. Even the guest of honor had a good time ripping the wrapping paper off her presents, even if Kate had to stop her from eating it.
As much fun as that party had been, he was really enjoying himself tonight. The menu was simple: spaghetti and meatballs, because Lily loved it. (Kate thought she liked the mess she could make, but Rick swore she was saying "yum" as she picked up pieces of smashed up meatball) The guest list was special too: his mother, Kate's dad, Alexis, and Alexis' husband to be, Mike. Lily was certainly the center of attention, and she loved it.
They both were amazed at how much their baby had grown in a year. She had a few words – the usual "da", "ma", "no", and a few others – and she was getting pretty good at feeding herself, even if she missed her mouth more than she got the food in. Soon, they were all finished eating and everyone helped clear the table. Kate wouldn't let anyone do the dishes so they all went to sit together and let Lily amuse them before it was time for her to go to bed.
He and Kate did this every night – they just hung out with their daughter and watched her play. She had a few noisy toys that she loved, she had a few stuffed animals that she'd love on, and of course, they loved to watch her try to walk. Of course, she was an excellent crawler, but she was trying very hard to do more. Rick was convinced she'd been walking any day now; Kate was trying not to think about what trouble she'd get into when that happened. And she loved to "dance", too. They'd play music or Kate would sing and Lily would bounce on her bottom. Sometimes, Kate or Rick would hold her in their arms and twirl around. She really loved it when they held her between them and rocked her back and forth. Rick knew it was corny, like every corny scene from a movie (Kate always teased him he was almost as handsome as Hugh Grant when he did that) but he loved it, almost as much as he loved his young daughter.
So tonight, the whole family joined in as Lily did her best to entertain them. She played "peek-a-boo" for a while with her grandpa, and then she sat on grandma's lap and played with her bangle bracelets. (Martha had switched to wearing jewelry that Lily could play with and not choke on a few months ago.) Then, Kate and Rick sang some of her favorite songs so she could dance for them. At this moment, Alexis was helping Lily walk, which meant that Lily took a few steps while holding on to her big sister's hands.
Soon, Lily tired of that game, because she wanted to do it herself. She let go of Alexis' hands and held onto the nearby table. All eyes were on her as she let go and wobbled for a minute, but then she took a tentative step. Kate grabbed Rick's bicep as she gasped, "Look at her, Rick! She's walking!" Everyone watched Lily take another step with a very serious look on her face. Rick couldn't help himself; he let out a "Way to go, Lily!" and the rest of the family cheered her.
She looked around, seemed to notice what she was doing, and fell to her bottom. The family expected her to laugh and pick herself up again, but she surprised them – she burst into tears. Kate swooped in and picked her up and soothed her little girl. Lily buried her head into Kate's neck and cried a little more. Rick felt like he was a horrible dad, and the rest of the family felt badly. Kate tried to tell them that Lily was probably a bit tired, and had overreacted to her set-back, but they still felt like they messed up.
The party broke up soon after that. Lily did give kisses to everyone as they left, and waved "bye-bye" to them from her perch in her mother's arms. They tucked her into bed with a story and her favorite stuffed animal and watched as she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Lily woke up as her usual happy self. Kate was glad she was able to see her daughter before she had to go off to work. Rick promised to record any steps she took and send them right to Kate, but no matter what he did or said, Lily wasn't interested. She crawled when she wanted to go anywhere, and she did pull herself up once or twice, but she didn't attempt any more solo steps. He felt guilty that night when he and Kate talked about it, but she convinced him that their daughter was fine, and she'd walk again.
But she didn't try for the next few days either. Each night, she'd happily eat her dinner, and after dinner, she'd dance, she'd play with her toys, but she wasn't interested in walking. They decided they wouldn't push her to try again; they'd let her decide when she wanted to try again. The next evening, they watched as she pulled herself up using the couch and then she let go. Once again, the first step was kind of wobbly, but then she seemed to gather herself as she took a second and then a third step. Rick and Kate watched silently but with tears in their eyes as their daughter grinned at them. This time, their response to her achievement was a bit quieter, but they did celebrate it. Luckily, Rick had his phone ready and had recorded the moment, and he quickly sent it to the rest of the family.
From that moment on, Lily was never still; she walked everywhere she could, and often would refuse to hold anyone's hand. She was now a toddler, and every time Kate had to chase her, she wondered why she had wanted her to walk. But then later that night, watching her little girl walk with her daddy on the beach at the Hamptons, Kate's heart was full.
A/N: Another story from real life. About 17 years ago, I helped my sister take care of her two kids – a one year old and a four year old. We joked about how we didn't need to watch television since the two of them entertained us. And the kid that took her first steps and then was scared off by family cheering her was another niece. After dinner at my parents' house, she took a few steps, we applauded and she sat down and then refused to try again for a few days. Now the four year old nephew and the niece that was scared of walking are high school graduates! Congrats Jake and Sammie!
Another note: I got a job! Nothing fancy – I'll be getting minimum wage at a department store – but I'll be working and making money. So thanks for the good thoughts!