Walking!!

Amelia has been standing for a while, even standing up from the floor, not to mention the squat, stand, squat, stand routine as she drops and picks up a toy repeatedly. She wasn't taking any steps forward on her own at all, but would take off walking as long as you held her hands. So, for her birthday, I pulled out this push toy that Aunt Amy gave us when she was 6 months old. The first day, she would follow it when it moved away from her. By the second day, she was pushing it around like a pro. By the third day, she was using it like a walker, kinda of putting it to her side as a stabilizer and dragging it alongside of her. Then day four came and at kindermusik, Amelia took a few steps toward the xylophone! All by herself. That became her pattern for a few days - she'd walk about four steps before dropping and crawling - the much more efficent mode of travel, after all. By Thursday she was taking about six steps and they were larger and steadier. She is well on her way and it's amazing how patient she is about it. At daycare she walked all the way from the couch to the TV, but it took her (as Granny Jan said) about 30 minutes! But that's Amelia - in general, she keeps trying at something rather than getting frustrated immediately. Let's hope she continues to be so focused on whatever she is learning and discovering!

[picture dated 9/24/06]