These shoes are made for walking

Over the weekend we took Ben to buy his first real shoes. Not that he was shoeless before, but until now his shoes have been just an accessory. They had no practical purpose and were merely to complete an outfit. Now, he can walk and these are his first walking shoes. They measured his feet and explained that he would want a shoe with a softer sole. Unfortunately, they didn't have much as far as inventory (apparently we are between seasons or something?) but they had two pairs in his size. We went with the snazzy white leather velcro option though I really wanted these:

But, tragically, they were not to be had due to our "late in the season" shoe buying. Alas! He was thrilled with his new shoes. Until we put him down on the floor to walk around. Then...not so much. He continued to try to lift his legs like his feet were 1,000 lbs. At one point, he actually sat down on the floor and resumed crawling but dragging his feet in a seal-like impersonation. Finally, after a few hours of practice and still some stumbles over his suddenly huge feet, he was tromping along happily in his new shoes. Now when I go to put them on, he giggles in anticipation and is no longer agitated that his feet are encumbered.

I, on the other hand, am still adjusting. It's not just that he is now a quarter of an inch taller and can reach the top of the kitchen table now (though that is another annoying interesting byproduct of shoe wearing). It's that babies don't have to wear shoes. They can just be bare foot or wear socks everywhere and no one thinks to mind. Little boys, on the other hand, wear shoes. So that they can splash in puddles, jump in the mud, run really fast, and climb everything. On second thought, maybe this won't be so bad.