Joely is 10 months

Joely started crawling on his 10 month birthday. Crazy, right? I honestly never expected him to crawl. I didn't crawl and he wasn't showing any signs of trying to crawl. Sure, he would get up on all fours, but he wouldn't move. He'd just stay still. However, when we'd stand him at his discovery table, he'd stay and move around.
As I write this, Joely crawled over to Maya to pet her. Maya is pawing him back and just letting him explore her. He's so fascinated by her and she truly loves him. She follows him around to make sure he doesn't stray too far. She licks up his face (a treat for her!). Maya had maternal instincts even before Joely arrived. When I was pregnant she carried around a toy puppy. She wouldn't let any of us touch it, and if we did, she immediately cleaned it off. It was like she was trying to get rid of our germs. She's so sweet.
I am a little proud that he's crawling because his ex-daycare providers voiced their concerns that he wasn't crawling and also told me that crawling was too important of a developmental step to miss. I seriously still cannot believe how uneducated these folks were. I know they had taken child development courses required by the state, but I guess their own theories were more important. Nevertheless, we knew our son (something they tried to downplay since he was there 40 hours a week) and we knew he was normal. Thankfully, they're no longer caring for babies.
One of the things I admire about Joely is that he does everything in his own time. I think all babies are like this and it is one of the things that makes them so special. I should have known that he would be like this when he made his debut three weeks before his due date. I think Joely just wants to be independent. I was bummed when he wouldn't share a June birthday with his Grandpa Joel and Uncle Joel, but I see now that he was just saying, "hey, I'm my own Joel." This was one of the reasons why we gave him a middle name different from either of theirs. Little did we know that he would take the literal meaning of his middle name (morning star) and apply it to his 4:34am birth!
I sometimes feel guilty for being given this little gift of Joel and honored to be in charge of his life. As I watch reports of the Trayvon Martin case, my guilt grows. How can we live in a place where this happens? What do I, as a parent, have to do to save my son from something similar. There are so many ugly truths about life, racism, etc. that I have to share with him. I remember being pregnant with him when the whole Penn State Jerry Sandusky scandal hit the news, and I instantly felt that guilt. There are just so many ills . I wonder how I can make him aware without making him scared. How do I tell him that some people will only judge him by the color of his skin? So many things....
I guess this is why I am still hurt by Joel's dismissal from daycare. I have no idea if something bad was done to him. I feel like I trusted them to provide proper care and they did not. I'm thankful that he's young and will not suffer any major scars. In fact, I think he's advancing despite of it. Joel is a happy, unique, curious, and might I add handsome little guy (so handsome that we're going to open casting for baby modeling in May...wish us luck!) I love this little blessing in my life and I'm so thankful for him. Happy 10 months, Joel Tariq! I love you so! Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure. Joely now knows how to pose for the camera. The other day I tried to film him crawling and he just sat there smiling waiting for the flash. See why he is a natural model? He already knows the drill!