A Milestone Day

Shortly after returning from China, Maeve took her first steps, three in total. Since then she has steadily progressed and by last week she was cruising furniture on a regular basis and taking short (eightish steps at a time) walks on her own mainly in our living room. I knew she was ready to make a huge leap forward, so I bought her a pair of shoes (and a cute pair of sandals) last week. Still she was only comfortable walking in the house and mainly the living room. If she fell too hard, she would cry for me to come pick her up. If I walked into the kitchen (it is an open floor plan so she can still see me) she would cry until I came back, but not make any attempt to follow me into the kitchen.

All of her behavior is normal for her age. Maeve's comfort zone is me, so as she experiences new things she has one eye on me at all times. To help her through this, I have been encouraging her to get back up and to walk/crawl to me when she is upset versus me going to her. Most of the time she is crying because she is unsure, not because she is hurt or truly upset. With a little (okay alot of - you would think she won an Olympic gold medal from the applause in my house when she picks herself up after a little tumble) encouragement, Maeve is gradually expanding her comfort zone and becoming more and more independant (in a toddler fashion, not quite ready for her first apartment yet.) :)

Today, I could really see this. Midday she started walking nonstop. No more crying when I left the room, she simply followed me. My snuggler became a wiggle worm today as she did not want to be up in my arms at all, but down on the ground walking away and away and away. Needless to say, I was in chase mode for most of the day. She still waddles a bit like a drunken sailor and the slight decline at the bottom of the driveway had her working on her balance, but she appears to be a "walker" now. Wow! From first steps less than four weeks ago (not to mention barely crawling less than six weeks ago) to walking nonstop. This is what people mean when they say, "children grow up so fast". She isn't even 14 months old yet and I can see this.

Everyday I wake up with a smile and remember how lucky I am to have her in my life. Maeve continues to amaze me daily with everything she does, whether it is the way she reaches for me with her beautiful smile when I take her out of the carseat, finding her cute ticklish spot under her chin or the crazy, contortionist ways this little girl likes to take a nap. Each day with Maeve is full of new discoveries. And each night I go to sleep dreaming of what the next day will bring.

Posted by Laura at 10:28 PM