Up On Her Feet!!!

Well, it happened! Emery has discovered the joys of being upright and over the weekend figured out how to use her push toys to stay on her feet and get to where she wants to go that much faster.  Friday afternoon she decided to try it and by Saturday evening she was doing laps from the living room to the kitchen and back.  I tried my very best to capture this on video, but to be honest the first time she started doing it, I was in shock and had both excitement and fear running through my veins. Of course, initially I was so excited for her.  She was so proud of herself and was smiling from ear to ear as she put one foot in front of the other and pushed her walker toy down the hall.  At just 8.5 months she was walking and loving every minute of it. Then my excitement drained and my mama-bear panic mode kicked in. She’s going to fall; wipe out; hurt herself.  It took everything in me to not swipe her up in my arms and protect my little girl from the potential pain that this new adventure could cause her. Okay-okay, it wasn’t quite that dramatic; but close. I stood in front of her walker and guided it down the hall way with my foot just off the front of it to make sure that it wouldn’t slip out from her as she walked all the way from the living room to our back bedroom. She was so happy with this new, foreign experience and didn’t want to stop. As soon as we got on the carpet (the "safe-zone"), I turned on the video and started to record it.

Since then, she has discovered that her little, pink car walker works a whole lot better if she stands on the outside of it then if mama puts her in it. Emery, the little daredevil, doesn’t like to be restrained and has the “I can do it by myself” mentality. (I wonder where she gets that from?!)  She spent most of Saturday pushing her pink car around the house, figuring out how to maneuver it around the dogs, chairs, and walls, She quickly learned that when-in-doubt, walk around the car, grab on to whatever is close and keep on going (this gives me a slight panic attack every time she does it)!  She was so impressed with herself, she practiced all day, & continued to show off for daddy when he got home from a long day's work.

It’s a weird combination of feelings watching her grow and figure out the world around her. I can’t help but feel proud, and share in her joy as she learns new things and becomes more and more independent, Then again, there is a tinge of sadness & longing for the little 7lb 14oz baby girl born not that long ago, who would just sleep in my arms and snuggle with me until I decided to put her down. Now she’s off and running (well walking), figuring out & doing things on her own. (Note to self: invest in many pairs of no-slip socks).

I know, I know- everyone warned me, “Enjoy it, it goes fast”, but you don’t realize just how fast it really goes until it’s gone and the next step is already here. I have no desire for things to go any faster than they already are.  Do as the country song says, and "let them be little".  I continue to remind myself with every  challenging day (yes, we have those) and every exhausting night, that these days will come and go too, just as those days that she would just lie in her rocker and stare up at me are long gone. There are many things that I miss from her early days, but they are replaced with new, exciting things- so I suppose it all balances out. Today it is walking with her push toys… I’m not sure what tomorrow will be- but I can guess that it will be exciting as well. So as I jet off to rescue my little love from her morning nap, I leave you with a few clips of her new “trick”.