Bumps and bruises are inevitable...

Since poor Reagan has the benefit of being the second child, she has been given more leeway to explore the world around her.  This weekend, my heart of steel (HA) was challenged as both Ashton and Reagan fell down four brick steps at Jimmy's parent's house.

Nancy and Dudley keep their dogs in their garage and Ashton loves to visit with them, often feeding them treats.  What kid wouldn't?  There is a baby gate at the top of the brick stairs to keep the dogs out of the newly renovated living area.  So there we were, doing what we have done 100 times before; nothing new.  Reagan crawls up to join in the fun with Ashton, and I am half holding onto the gate and half distracted talking to Nancy behind me.

Then all of the sudden CRASH, the baby gate gives way and both kids go flying down the stairs landing in a discombobulated pile on the concrete floor.  I was horrified, running, and yelling at the top of my lungs "JIMMY HELP!"  Both kids were crying and in shock, and frankly, so was I.  Reagan suffered the brunt of the fall because Ashton landed square on her head, forcing her to hit the concrete extra hard.

When such an innocent little being is hurt, it is heartbreaking.  I wished I could take her place, especially since I felt responsible and should have been paying full attention.  Luckily, God designed infants to be very pliable and equipped with short-term memory loss.  She recovered quickly, smiling only minutes after the trauma, though all of us cringed at the knot on her head and bruise on her eye.