celebrating the moments of our lives

I never thought I'd be one of those mum's who wanted to put the breaks on their child's aging, but quite frankly, as of late, I've been feeling a little bit panicky about how fast Oliver is shedding his baby-ness and becoming a little boy.

All that was forgotten today, however, when the two of us went out for our first "coffee date." Okay, I had a Chai latte and he had steamed milk, but it's the event, non? Of course, he's tagged along with me countless times when I've gone out with friends or interview subjects. But this time it was different. This time, it was just us. Mother and son. Chai and steamed milk.

We braved the bitter cold together to walk to the second-nearest Starbucks, Oliver in his pushchair, me getting some much needed exercise. When we got there, he sat in one of those great, roly high chairs, which he kept pushing away from the table because he could. He had never had steamed milk before (usually when we go to Starbucks he gets water) and he didn't know what to make of all the foam. Every sip elicited another dubious face, complete with fat, white moustache, but he soldiered on and drank about two-thirds of the cup. We shared a slice of banana bread.

Between sips and bites, I read the newspaper and Oliver regaled the rest of the coffee shop with his puppy dog impersonation, barking loudly at a Scotty dog that was parked outside the window we sat next to.

On the way home, he fell asleep in his pushchair, clutching his new toy bat and some plastic links under his blanket. I think it was the warm milk that did him in.

It was nothing deep - but then, most of the fondest moments in our lives aren't, at least not for several months or weeks after the fact - but it was a little harbinger of moments to come. Moments you can't share with a baby. So I'm accepting this new, more independant stage. And I can't wait to do more with this fabulous, if quirky, little person.