This weekend Reese got a little more brave with her walking. At one point, she even walked from the end of the couch (closest to the kitchen) to the backdoor by herself without falling or crawling. (A much more impressive feat if you're familiar with the layout of our house.) We watched and cheered for her and we could tell that she was very proud. When we tried to catch some steps on video, though, she was less interested and suddenly less coordinated. You can watch the results in the video below.
I'm not sure why, but my notion of the timing and quality of a child's first steps seems a little misconstrued. The way I've heard people talk (as well as some videos I've seen of other children), makes it seem like one day a child gets up and just starts walking around--wobbly, yes, but walking none-the-less. Stories make it sound like it's a quick transition from crawling to walking, and maybe for some kids it is. Maybe for some kids, they get the hang of it, throw caution to the wind and don't look back. For Reese, though, it's definitely been a more gradual process. I think that she thinks a little too much about things and gets unsure. Countless times now, I've watched her stand up, look at something, take one step toward it, then pause and decide to crawl instead. She's definitely on her way, which is exciting! I'll try to catch some more video of her in action soon.
Ava learned to walk in the same way that Reese is. Sometimes I think people (unintentionally) exaggerate the process of learning to walk. My mother-in-law swears that nobody on their side of the family ever crawled -- they are so superior that they just went from laying flat on their backs to walking, I guess!
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