Step by step

For those of you who haven't been around Connor lately, he is walking now! For the last several months, he's been working so hard at walking well when you hold both his hands, then he dropped one of those hands and practiced some more, and now he can walk on his own!! Although he took his first 2-3 steps on his own on Father's Day, we are counting his first official steps on July 9 when he took 15 independent steps between me and Brad. (The 2-5 steps before then were more of a controlled fall, so we didn't count those.) He was 8 months old!!! Now, all he wants to do is practice walking. He is so determined to be running around with his older friends! We still have to hold onto one of his hands most of the time, but the support he gets from us now is minimal. He is going to be walking by himself in no time, and then the real trouble will start. Here are a few videos of his new skills taken over the last couple months:






Because bending over and walking with him has been putting so much stress on our backs, Brad and I devised a system that makes everyone happy. He could do this all day (and he does)... (In my defense, I don't normally dress like this - I was dressed up to go to a line dancing enrichment activity, but I didn't end up going because Brad got home from work really late that night. And as if my looks weren't white trash enough for you - yes, that's a fridge in our living room. That's another story entirely.)




On the flip side, look how well Connor still doesn't crawl, although he is getting much better. What kid walks but doesn't crawl??



Connor is 9 months old today and he is happier than ever (except when you sit him on the floor when he wants to walk - then he'll really let you have it). He is so much fun. His newest skills (besides walking) include clapping, socially laughing (if you laugh, he will sometimes laugh back), stooping to pick things off the floor while standing, standing by himself with no support, and he does this shy gesture where he tucks his head into his left shoulder while smiling at you. Don't know where that came from, but it really is cute.

He's a good kid, albeit strong willed - he certainly knows what he wants and when he wants it. But I know that will help him later in his life. We love you Connor baby! Happy 9 months!