Walking !?!

Well, over the last couple of weeks Eleanor has taken her cruising to a whole new level. She pretty much refuses to be put down on her hands and knees or in a sitting position. She locks her knees as you head her toward the floor, she grabs your hands with an iron grip and then takes off walking in whatever direction she wants. She's a pro at leading people around the house, holding on to two fingers. She also likes walking along holding just one finger. She's not quite as fast with this and totters a bit more, but she's working hard at it. She can stand on her own for a few seconds now, not holding on to anything, but if she realizes that's what she's doing, she sits down. It makes me laugh.

I'm not prepared for her to really start walking yet, so I'm hoping this stage lasts a long time... Unfortunately for me, though, as she was playing in our bedroom last night she took a step by herself, without holding onto anything. It was just one step, but now it feels like anything is possible. Today she stood for a good 30 seconds all by herself. Instead of crashing to the ground, she did an extremely controlled squat down. As I watched her I was definitely envious of her quads - she's one strong little thing. Sometimes I wish this kid would slow down a little bit!

Seth is off in Washington DC this week for a conference, so Ellie and I are roughing it at home together. When he gets back we have a whole lot more "baby"proofing to do around here! Along with that, I've finally lived in this house long enough to better understand what I need to have where... so although we just moved in, I think we're in for a whole new round of organizing.