Walk on by

My baby girl turned one year old this month, and she started walking right on time. I was a little surprised how fast she started walking, since a month ago she didn't show any interest. But as soon as she figured out how much easier bipedalism was, she started moving away from crawling. I suppose that our hard wooden floors may have had something to do with it—that must be hard on those chubby little knees. And since she has an older sister to chase, she had incentive to learn how to walk quickly. So quickly, in fact, that we have hardly any pictures yet of her walking. I need to rectify that soon.

Walking has changed my perception of my daughter too. She doesn't seem like a baby as much. And now that she's more in control of her mobility, she's much more assertive. She's her own little person, with distinct opinions, and don't you forget it. Yesterday she walked past the living room where I was sitting, grinned at me, and then walked into the other room. She seemed so much older than just a couple days ago. She still wants to be held a lot, but this is one of the first steps in her independence from her parents. I'm trying to fix these moments in my mind, so that when she is in the throes of teenage angst and doesn't even want to be seen with her parents, I'll remember the simpler times.

When my oldest was a baby we taught her modified sign language, so she could sign for "more" or "all done" or "ouch" or "eat." It was very useful, and kept her from getting as frustrated. But we somehow didn't do that with my one-year-old. I don't know if we were just too busy with two kids to concentrate on teaching it to her, or whether she just wasn't that interested. She did the usual crying, reaching, and laughing that all babies do, so there was no lack of expressiveness to our inquiries. But recently she has learned the sign for all done, which makes eating time easier. Instead of pitching a fit in the high chair, she signs that she's done and we let her down. My favorite part is that she waves her hands above her head like a football referee motioning where the ball will be placed, which isn't how it's supposed to be signed, but we still get the idea.