Get Up, Stand Up

Reese continues to be a busy body around the house. She is constantly on the move. Luckily, she has learned to avoid the dog/cat areas as well as the fireplace. (It only took a few serious tantrums before she got the hint I was serious when i said "no.") Nowadays, Reese is most content when standing up. I've seen her abandon her inch-worm crawling numerous times for the "real thing" (on hands and knees), but she doesn't get much practice since she would prefer to be vertical. This a fun but scary new chapter for her (and me). Her favorite areas to stand in are: her crib, her playpen, holding onto the couch, holding on to the coffee table, and holding onto some baskets in the living room. Once Reese gets vertical, she begins exploring. Anything within arms reach is fair game. She has even ventured a few steps while holding on in order to get something really desirable (like my cell phone or the TV remote). Reese's only problem is that she has yet to figure out how to get down from standing. She gets up in a flash, but once she's lost interest or gets tired, she begins crying and doesn't understand how to get down. (Ehren has coined it the "stuck in a tree" phenomenon. From my own childhood tree experiences, I think this is a perfect analogy.) I'm trying to give her some time to figure things out independently, but she often needs rescuing or a physical prompt to get her started on the way down. She's also been pretty brave about letting go once standing. She seldom looses her balance when she does this, but it does give me a scare. If she's not standing, she's climbing on something or someone. Once Reese gets a hold of the couch, her next move is to try to pull herself up onto the couch. The same rings true of the baskets in the living room. If it's not furniture, she's usually scaling me. Whether sitting or lying down near her, i have become the perfect obstacle course. My clothing takes a lot of abuse in the processes, but Reese enjoys scaling "Mount Mommy." (She's had less success scaling "Mount Annie." Annie takes a lot of abuse, but she currently draws the line at being crawled on and over.)