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Milestone: Steps towards Steps

Soren has gotten much better at standing up on his own. He will now stand up unaided for an extended period of time, even if he is in the middle of an empty space.

He used to stand up only when he was right next to a table or chair, probably so that he could grab it if he felt unstable at any moment. But now, there is no longer the need for that mental safety. He is brave and strong enough to stand all on his own.

This is such a common occurrence now that I even managed to run and grab the camera and snap several photos last night before he sat down.

***

On Valentines Day he made a very humorous and disastrous attempt at walking. He was playing with a flimsy doll stroller at his friend's house. It looked very much like his walker but it was not built to support any weight at all. He was standing up, holding the handles, and he took a few confident steps forward, completely expecting the stroller to sustain him. With each step it slipped further away from him until he fell flat on his face.

Fortunately, he wasn't hurt or upset. He just didn't want to try again.

***

Beginning on this past Sunday, he has started standing up from a crawl or sit without any assistance. He will just put both feet flat on the floor and then use his hands to push himself up to standing.

I am completely unsure as to why he does this. It never seems to be motivated by a desire to pick up or reach something. He will be sitting on the floor and suddenly decide he wants to be standing.

Sometimes it doesn't work out as well as he plans. But he just gets up again and keeps on trying.

***

And then today: We were visiting our friends April and Sequoia when Soren took a very tiny, halting first step. He was standing in the middle of Sequoia's toys, watching her run very capably all over the room.

He was standing with his left foot slightly ahead of his right foot, looking very intently at the empty space ahead of him. Then he lifted his right foot off the floor (just barely) and inched it forward to meet his left foot.

I gasped.

And he promptly dropped to his knees and crawled at lightning speed towards whatever he was interested in.

***

I suppose the point behind all this rambling is that I am excited about his developing motor skills. And I, like everyone else, keep thinking that he will be walking any day now. I'm increasingly sure that he is capable, just lacking in motivation. His crawl is so fast, even when he is using his forearms instead of his hands (because his hands are occupied with books).

But one day it'll just happen. I'll be so proud ... and then sad about how grown up my little baby is.
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