We Have A Walker!

A few weeks ago I thought Paige may never walk. Realistically, that was my sore back talking, but it was hard to ignore.
For months now, Paige has been cruising around the house and walking with the assistance of a push car or someone's finger. Just before Thanksgiving she was willing to take one or two steps toward someone if you distracted her and removed your support just before she reached them. At any other time, though, if you tried to get her to walk by herself, she would scowl at you and then promptly sit down. If she could talk I'm sure she was saying, "You can't make me do this. What do you think you're doing over THERE? Come back and help me." Sometimes, even the act of setting her down on her feet would bring on body arching and wet noodlism.


Then, last week, she began playing one of her favorite games--climb onto the blue chair.
This time, though, after she turned around and sat down, she slid off the edge onto her feet and walked across the room to me. This was not a wobbly one or two step affair. She stood up and walked easily 6 feet without a stumble. Proud of herself and happy with my excited reaction, she continued to go back to the chair, crawl in, turn around, stand up and walk around her room. By the tenth time she slid down she turned and walked out of her room and down the hallway. And we were off to the races....Here's some video taken during her first day walking.


This walking experience is just another interesting point of comparison for the girls. Reese walked (and crawled) at an earlier age than Paige, but in doing so, she went through EVERY iteration of the experience. When it came to walking, Reese began to stand independently first and then try one or two steps at a time. This process lasted a few weeks before she really began to walk steadily. With Paige, everything seems to click on her timetable. She doesn't make a move until she's sure she can do it perfectly.

It's been less than a week since she took those first steps and she already is carrying items around with her while walking, drinking her cup while walking, bending down to get things, and her balance and ability to catch herself to prevent falls is impressive.

Reese was Paige's biggest cheerleader for the first day...then, some jealousy kicked in. It only took one time out for pushing sister down to straighten things out. Now Reese is ready for Paige to dance with her. I'm guessing in a few weeks Paige will surprise us all with a perfectly executed twirl or two.