Walking in Memphis/Olive Branch

Lexi took her first unaided steps about two weeks ago. In one night she went from zero steps on her imaginary pedometer to about 50. She just started walking back and forth between Elian and me, a distance of about 10 feet. She did it three times and called it a night. Since then, she has been unstoppable.

Lexi wants to walk all day. During the past two weeks she has mastered pulling herself to a standing position, walking by herself, walking on uneven surfaces, u-turns, walking barefoot and in shoes, bending over to get a toy off the floor and standing back up again without falling over, and climbing up the stairs at a vigorous pace with few, if any, stumbles. I am astonished at how quickly my immobile child has become almost independently mobile. She still has a couple more movements to tackle, like squatting, walking in socks, and standing up when there isn't anything to pull up on near by. But, by and large, she can get where she wants to when she wants to.

This new found movement has led to a fair amount of bumps and bruises, but at least Lexi hasn't smacked her head or shed any blood (yet). The most amusing of all her falls occurred yesterday at the doctor's office. There was a toy box in the waiting room. Lexi was standing at it, pulling all the toys out and throwing them on the floor. Once the toy level got too low for her to reach anything, she stood on her tippy toes. When that didn't work, she allowed her feet to leave the ground. Now, for those who haven't thought about it, toddlers are top heavy. They have big, heavy heads, round bellies, and their short legs just don't keep them on the ground when they are bent over at the waist reaching for toys in the bottom of a bin. Lexi went head first into the toys, and her little legs went parallel to the floor. I had to pull her out of the toy box and set her upright. The experience frightened her more than it hurt her, and it taught me to be more vigilant when she is standing near toilets and empty bathtubs - yikes!