Steps of Faith...

Less than a week shy of turning 15 months old, Faith took her first steps. Now, I must confess that I have been breaking the #1 “mommy rule”. Don't compare your child to others. I ignored this piece of wisdom and have been comparing her to other kids (her age and younger) and began to worry because she wasn’t walking yet and all of them were. I kept reminding myself about the development norms and that there is an age RANGE that kids acquire certain skills. However, most of these kiddos were WAY younger than Faith (in baby development that is, I know in a few years 6 months seems like nothing but right now those little 10 month olds seem light years younger than Faith). Anyway, the Dr. had said she was fine, she passed her check-up and I was told to give her 3-4 more months before being concerned. The worry did ease up but I couldn’t help wondering if she was ever going to walk. She seemed TOTALLY happy scooting and had NO INTEREST in walking (except while cruising around a table or with a push-toy). Murray and I had tried to “help” her learn but she was NOT interested in taking Walking 101 with Mommy and Daddy!!!

Well.....out of the blue......

Yesterday, Faith and I spent the day with our friend, Ramona and her 2 children, Gillian and George. (Ramona is on bed rest for about 6-8 weeks so we went to offer our help in any way we could.) Her son, George, is exactly 6 months older than Faith. She and George were playing together like 2 peas in a pod. It seriously was the cutest thing EVER!! (That’s another blog post). Ramona and I kept saying how cute they were, how surprised we were by the way they were interacting, etc. It really was so fun to watch. After about an hour of playing, I got up to wash some dishes. Ramona’s kitchen has a cut out in the wall where you can look into the next room while standing at the kitchen sink. I wasn’t paying much attention to the kids as they were playing nicely. Ramona and I were talking (she was on the couch in the same room as the kids). All of the sudden, I noticed Faith’s little arms moving around as if to help her keep her balance and I saw her move several steps from where she was….I couldn’t see her feet, just her body from the waist up…but it was obvious she wasn’t scooting over to George. I screamed….”I think she just started walking!!!” Ramona said, “I think you’re right!” I ran in and hugged her and tried to recreate the moment so I could see her whole body take those amazing steps, but Faith wasn’t that interested. A few minutes later, Faith was sitting in a little rocking chair; she stood straight up, raised her arms above her head and took about 5 steps forward. It was THE CUTEST thing EVER!!! I was so delighted and excited. What a joy to watch this unfold. I really was in disbelief for I convinced myself it wasn’t going to happen (without some major work from Murray and me “teaching” her how to do this).

Murray happened to call a few minutes later and I told him the GREAT NEWS!! He was SO EXCITED…he decided to come over to Ramona’s and see this for himself (I’m SO GLAD he did!!). After Murray arrived, Faith was ready to show off her stuff again. This time she walked about 6-7 steps. (This is what the video shows). It was such a special moment! We both were BEAMING…to put it mildly!!!

Later that evening, I was retelling this story to someone and they said, “Just wait, you’ll regret that she’s walking as soon as she starts getting into everything now.” I quickly answered with full confidence, “I don’t think so. We’ve waited such a long time to see this happen that I truly am excited to follow her around and watch her walk. I can’t wait for her to walk even more!” I honestly believe that. This is such a gift to us….why would I resent this incredible ability?!?!?! I’m finding that the more you wait for things, the easier it is to appreciate them. OK—enough of the “life lessons” I just wanted to share our great news (and warn you NOT to tell me I’ll soon regret this phase of Faith’s development J ). I’m happy as a lark to have a little toddling girl to follow around!!

P.S. These steps couldn't have come at a better time. Now that the weather is getting warmer, we've been spending a lot of time outside. Here is a picture of what Faith's jeans and onesie looked like after playing today.... the scooting sure does a number on her clothes. Looks like she's gonna be a "leftie!!"

This is only the second time she's worn these jeans!!

I couldn't resist this picture either... Faith's first time to sit at a "big girl" table and eat lunch off of a plate. She's asking for "more". This is her buddy, George, who I think inspired those first steps!! Doesn't she look like such a big girl????