She Walks!

Eleanor has been late to just about every physical milestone possible so far.  She didn't bother learning to sit up until six months.  She finally got around to army crawling at ten and a half months, and, six weeks later, realized that knees work better for crawling.  Three days before we left for R&R she decided that maybe this walking thing wasn't such a bad idea after all.  I spent a lot of time in a lot of airports awkwardly walking behind her as she toddled, grasping my fingers tightly, around chairs, suitcases, and fellow travelers.  By the very end we graduated to only one hand, but not until Istanbul, our very last airport.

Sunday, as we were saying our goodbyes after church, Eleanor took five or six steps by herself, looked around and realized that nobody was holding on to her, and sat down.  Her siblings, delighted with Eleanor's new skill, immediately hustled her off to the carpet, and passed her around, cheering wildly each time she walked from one sibling to the next.  By bedtime, she had figured out taking off from chairs, walls, and knees, standing up from a crouching position, and turning corners.

I'm looking forward to not having to scrub her down after the children play outside, keeping the knees of her pants intact, and not having to haul twenty-two pounds of baby with me wherever I go.  I love walking babies.