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Richard Engel's youngest son takes his 1st steps — see the joyful video

The NBC News correspondent marked a very special occasion with his family over Labor Day weekend.
/ Source: TODAY

It was an exciting Labor Day at Richard Engel's house.

On Monday, the NBC News chief foreign correspondent shared a sweet video of the moment his youngest son took his first steps. Theodore, who just turned 1, can be seen walking away from his father and into the arms of his mother and big brother Henry, who turns 5 in September.

"And this happened today! Baby steps. Go Theo! Henry and @MaryKForrest cheering on," Engel wrote on Twitter.

After his big moment, Theo hugged his mom and brother while his proud pop walked over to give him a round of applause — and a big kiss.

Engel and Mary Forrest, his wife of five years, welcomed Theo into the world in August 2019. He's the second child for the couple, who have been very candid about the joys and challenges of raising Henry, who was born with a genetic disorder known as MECP2 mutation, commonly called RETT syndrome.

According to Engel, Henry is unable to walk or talk. Engel has also said that his oldest son can't sit up straight or feed himself "efficiently." While Henry used to be able to manage an "army crawl" (moving on his elbows and pushing forward with one knee) when he was younger, that movement has proven too difficult for him as he continues to grow.

In an essay for TODAY published last month, Engel opened up about how Henry isn't coping well during the coronavirus pandemic and added that this time has been extra challenging for parents of special needs children.

Before lockdown, Henry participated in a variety of activities including equine therapy with horses, astronaut therapy in a soft play room, music classes, hydrotherapy and also went to a special school for a few hours a day, Engel explained.

However, all of those activities have come to a halt during the pandemic. Engel said it's been tough to witness his son become increasingly bored and added that his condition seems to be getting worse during the shutdowns.

"We sometimes put socks over his hands so he doesn’t chew them to the point where they bleed," Engel wrote. "For a child who interacts with the world through touch, this contactless society we’re living in has made his world smaller and less interesting."

Engel also shared there's something special that has helped Henry get through this difficult time: kisses from his little brother "who climbs on Henry and is just now starting to give him little open-mouthed kisses," Engel wrote. "It all helps."