on the move

"M" is for March Movement!

Earlier this month Ilse started to crawl forward. She's still honing this particular skill, but she now reliably moves toward her toys/sister/cats/[and delectible treats called magazines] more often than backward and away from them.

She just gained the ability to push herself from prone into a seated position. Mostly. She still struggles with this occasionally, flailing backward and screaming about the indignity of babyhood and the groveling it requires.

She has also this March started to insist on pulling herself up to a standing position. The couch. The coffee table. The bookshelves. She hoists herself up on them, joyfully looks around  (King of the World!) and then falls. On her face. And that makes her mad. But not mad enough to quit, oh no.

Yesterday, March 14th, 2012, Ilse stood up on her own. Not pulling herself up using the couch. Middle of the floor. She was sitting, then leaned forward, got her little tootsies planted, and pushed off from the ground. One had stayed on her pop-up toy. Legs extended. She wasn't fully upright, but she was standing. Not sitting. Not kneeling. Not rolling. Not laying. Standing.

And then falling. Plop. Right onto her diaper. We made eye contact.  Me:  I can't believe you just did that!  Her: Did you see me? I'm awesome!

She kind of repeated it once, with this downward dog pose, but that's as near as I got to catching it on camera.

She's only seven months old, but she's not gonna let a little something like age (or lack thereof) stop her. Baby is on the move!