Leaps and Bounds

So I'd just like to brag a little bit about a certain little girl I know named Eva Daisy. Over the past few days, she has been working so hard to balance and so hard to stay on her feet, and I can confidently say that it's only a matter of time before she's walking everywhere, all the time.

We just got back from physical therapy-- a session so taxing that she crashed out the instant her fanny hit the car seat-- and if she can learn the transitional steps between sitting and standing, she'll be unstoppable.

I had a total lightbulb moment the other day when, despairing over ever getting her to do anything other than crawl in the house, I realized she'd probably walk to a book. Now, hold on to your hats, caballeros, because it may blow back your hair to discover that the daughter of a librarian and an English teacher has a bit of a crush on the written word. Baby's got book, and when I say that I pretty much mean it literally, because she's either carrying one, pushing one around, "reading" one to herself, or giving you the honor.

And so I started this little "game" (that I especially want to describe now that I mentioned it to a roomful of girlfriends and discovered it sounded like I was torturing the poor bean). Essentially, when she grabs a title, I help her transition to standing, wait until she gets her balance, and then high-tail it across the room, where I wait with open arms. Occasionally she cries about it, yes, but she always walks over to me. Her steps get quicker and more confident as she approaches, until she collapses on me with a huge grin and a frantic "This? THIS!?!?!" while knocking the book into my nose. We have a little cuddle party, and then it's straight on 'til morning with the complete works of Sandra Boynton or Eric Hill or some other diaskeuast for the kinder set. We do this every time she wants to read something, which is to say CONSTANTLY.

And guess what? Ever since we started doing this, if she manages to get herself standing somehow, she voluntarily walks until she falls down or gets to her destination. As I said before, all that's left is the transitioning between being on the floor and being on her feet.

So let's all clap our hands, shall we? Let's stomp our feet and pat some cakes and generally make merry for the success of our little friend. One day, the sound of her shoes retreating into her room only to slam the door will no doubt be the source of another kind of blog post, but for now, she's walking on sunshine.