These Stride Rites were made for walkin'....

We have an official walker in our house! Miller's upwardly mobile progression was fascinating to observe. At 12 months he took his first few steps on his own between furniture. He then mastered stepping out with nothing to walk to, walking five steps or so and then plopping down on his bottom when his legs gave out. Last week, he got more eager and bold in his efforts and would walk across the room on his own and began to choose walking over crawling for the majority of the time. That's when I decided that we do indeed have a little walker on our hands. It looks more like a duck waddle with chubby elbows out ready to anticipate a fall at any moment. Sometimes his body and head want to go in one direction but his legs are walking the other way. Miller also likes to pivot of one foot when it's time to turn around. He's perfecting his balance and his "breaks" when he wants to slow down. Another funny thing to observe is when his legs want to go faster than what his body can keep up with. That's when he takes a small dive forward.


We've polished our indoor walking and now it's time to master the sport of outdoor walking. This is a WHOLE other playing field. Grass, uneven terrain, bumps, and hills are all slowing his roll outside. He still looks up and depends on me for some help while outdoors. The road to walking hasn't been a "walk in the park" if you know what I mean. We've had some spills, head bang ups, and tumbles outside, but that's all part of the journey. We have our game face & helmets on :)ready to tackle this new outdoor challenge. It's such a workout that makes momma and baby exhausted at the end of the day, but we're so enjoying this walking phase of development.





Click on the play button to watch Miller toddling around.
Notice his basketball jersey outfit.....a tribute to his dad who thinks he doesn't own boyish clothes!!
Again, ignore my mommy voice!!