These Legs are Made for Walking

If you've spent time with Ethan, you know that since before he was born he's been on the go, on the go, on the go.  There's nothing I love more that watching the expression on his face as he makes a discovery, and watching him grow and develop.    

Before you think I'm completely crazy, let me explain.  Ethan has always been a big fan of trying to stand.  Anytime you would hold him as a baby and he could get his feet against something, he would push with all his might.  When he's trying to figure something out, you can so obviously see the gears spinning.  A little help and some encouragement goes a long way with him.  He's a quick learner.  He wanted to stand, we worked on standing.  Now he stands all the time (with assistance of course...balance is a whole other story).  So we stand and stand and stand.  Of course, that can only last for so long before he gets bored.  He sees something and wants to be near it.  So he leans, almost to the point where he's completely horizontal.  The problem?  He gets very frustrated that leaning doesn't make him go the way he thinks that it should.  To keep him happy, I started walking him across the floor (you know, the way you would make a stuffed animal walk).  He would get to the object he had spied and would let out a shriek of joy.  He enjoyed it, so we kept doing it.  A few days later, I started to notice that he was trying to pick up his leg.  I would hold him with his weight shifted on one leg, and slide his other leg forward.  We did that for a few days and it became evident that he was starting to figure it out for himself.  Everyday I was having to do less and less weight shifting for him.  

So here we are, about two and a half weeks after we started our little "walking" game.  Last night Charlie was helping him stand when Ethan lifted his knee up high and took a step forward.  Daddy couldn't believe how he'd done it all by himself.  Ethan took off across the living room and into the dining room (until he got distracted by the larger than Ethan sized plant...or maybe that's what initially caught his eye in the first place).  I ran upstairs and grabbed the camera.  Last night was the first time that he went quite a distance and with a much increased speed.  Like a light bulb, you could see it completely click. He was really lifting his knees up high too! How funny looking it is to see such a little person, not even 4 months old, motor across the room.

Now what do we have?  Well, we have a fun game to play.  We have a baby who can take some control over where he is.  No, he's not "walking," (and thank goodness!!)  but there's no arguing...he's well on his way!