We're walking!

The day we thought would come for the last month has finally arrived. On Saturday, Paige started to walk on her own. She was standing at the bookshelf when suddenly she took 8 or 9 steps towards her Bumbo seat. I just sat there trying not to make any noise. I think in the past when she had taken a step or 2, I had scared her with my crazy outbursts, so I tried to keep quiet this time. As she took these steps she was holding the "Ladder to Success" DVD, which I thought was somewhat appropriate.

After she took these steps Mike wanted to "work" with her, and was sitting on the ground and backing up while she walked towards him. Afer this she just got better and better. Now it kills me when I see her just randomly walk on her own. Way too funny. For instance, I put her on the floor standing up in our room, and she just wandered off into Mike's closet. If she attempts anything long distance where there isn't a resting point, she will inevitably bail and fall on the floor. She can't just wander around yet, which is good. I'm not ready for her to give up her cruising and crawlng yet. I feel like I would miss that.

What I have noticed since she has started walking, is her new feeling of independence. She doesn't like to be held as much, and hates being put in her car seat. Not that we ever just held her, but when I walk up the stairs with her, or through a store or something, she is straining her body downwards as if she wants to get on the floor and practice. I'm not sure about the car seat thing, but she is fine being put in the seat from home. If we have just been in a store, she HATEs being put back in the seat. She will make her body really stiff so she is standing in the seat, and the only way I can make her sit down is to basically physically force her knees to bend, and then she starts crying with no sound (that really upset cry). Who knows. It's time to change car seats too, so maybe that will stop, although she is fine when she is in the seat and she's not uncomfortable.

The video I posted is funny because we captured the first ever time that she tried to stand up on her own in the middle of the room. Not sure why she decided to do it for the camera, but that is great!

On Sunday we had lunch at my dad and Maura's with Marilyn Barr who was in town (hi Marilyn!). Paige found a stool in the kitchen that she had previously only cruised by. She decided to steer it around the entire house as if it were her walker. There are hardwood floors in the house, and after checking that the felt pads were still intact on the stool, we let her go wild. We just thought it was amazing that she could actually steer her way around by moving slightly around the stool.

Oh--oddly enough, Paige can also walk on grass quite easily. I would have thought that would have been difficult.