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FIRST STEPS- Kind of. . .

On August 14th, Caroline amazed me! She amazes me every day, but this day in particular was a big one. The quickness at which she learns things is simply astounding. She focuses and I can see her thinking and going over every scenario in her head. She lays everything out in her mind before she tries it. Then she practices something for a couple of days, and she masters the skill that fast. She is fascinating to observe.

This past week has been an exciting one. She’s always loved being upright- whether sitting or standing. She mastered sitting at 5 months old, and she’s been standing on her own (while holding onto something) for about a month now. She hadn’t yet attempted to pull herself up. Well, this week she did. She has been fixated on learning this skill. She thinks about it (so clearly written all over her face), and then she puts every muscle in her body to work as she tries to hoist her body into the standing position. She tried and tried for about 2 days, and then I sat her on the floor the next morning next to her activity cube… she simply grabbed it and stood up in one motion. Her feet would be in a less than deal position- sometimes her ankle even rolled over, and she’d just stand there. I would encourage her to fix her feet, but she didn’t understand. I would help her readjust and get a good stance. 

Then Friday came along. On the 14th of August, my smart, strong, beautiful girl decided that she now understood to fix her legs. She started trying to adjust her feet. So amazing to
see! This was all happening in about a 5 day process. And on this day, she even took it a step further- literally! We were in the kitchen and I was trying to get some dishes cleaned up and into the dishwasher. She had become bored with her toys, so I decided to bring her over closer to me. I sat her down right at my feet and kept on with the dishes. I felt a tug on my pants and looked down to see her trying to pull up. She didn’t have a good grip on anything, so she was having a hard time. I helped her out a bit and held her hands. I backed up to see her better and told her, “Good job!” She looked up at me and took a step forward! She moved her right foot so deliberately. She took a giant, purposeful step! I encouraged her to move her left foot forward as well, and eventually helped her out. She again moved her right foot forward. She did this 3 times! I couldn’t believe it! I called Daddy immediately and told him the exciting news. Luckily, when he got home, she decided to repeat it and show him her new trick!

On Saturday I tried a few times to get her to take some steps for me. Nothing happened. She was more focused on learning how to bend over and pick something up while holding onto something else for support. She would stand at her activity cube, drop her ball on the floor, hold on with one hand, and lean over to pick up the ball. She was careful and deliberate. She’d stand and assess the situation before she tried anything. She’d let go with one hand and make sure she had her balance, and then she’d pick up the ball. She didn’t even have to see what she was doing to know where the ball’s location was. She was successful in her attempts to pick it up several times. It was pretty interesting watching her manipulate her body and use the activity cube for balance. She had a full understanding of what would happen if she lost her balance, and she knew just how to avoid that.

Daddy tried to get her to take some steps after work and she gave him 6 steps! 4 of them were with her right foot, and 2 with her left. She seems a little reluctant with her left leg for
some reason, but it will catch up soon. In the meantime, she’s going to have my running in circles! She is climbing on everything and really starting to move around. She is getting very frustrated that she can’t get to things she wants, so I think she’s going to start moving here pretty quickly on her own out of sheer determination and a little frustration. She expresses herself very willingly, so I’m hoping she also starts finding ways to communicate with me as well. I am trying to show her how to point, and of course telling her all of the names of things. She doesn’t seem to have an interest in learning to crawl. She tries, but she isn’t getting anywhere yet, so she seems to have moved on to standing and perhaps walking sooner than later!

I can’t wait to see how this month progresses. She is learning at such a fast rate. This mama is so impressed. And the teacher in me wishes that the natural desire to learn wouldn’t get lost on young adults. I wish we could bottle up the desire, enthusiasm and excitement of learning, and keep it forever. It is such an amazing gift that we are all born with. So inspiring to watch babies have so much fun learning!



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