Ain’t No One Gonna Break My Stride

guest post by Norah

It’s been a busy week for me. I’ve been working on several new tricks for the past month or so, but have been trying my best to keep my development secret from Mommy and Daddy. They seem to so enjoy my status as a helpless infant that it would just break my little heart to make them start with the whole “oh, she’s growing up so fast” business. So, I find it’s best to keep them guessing.

However, last weekend the folks left me so they could go off and do grown-up things at a Bed and Breakfast…which is odd since I know we have both beds and breakfast food right here at our house. Anyway, MoMa came up to stay with me. Apparently word got out about the massive party I had been planning and they felt I needed supervision. But we had a good time, MoMa and me. I had fun waking her up in the middle of the night and then acting like I didn’t know why she was upset. That game never gets old.

When Mommy and Daddy came home, they seemed like they were in such good moods that I figured it was probably time to start wowing them with all my progress. And since they’ve been so impressed, I’d to take a few moments and wow you as well.

1) Gots me some chompers!

Yup, I’ve got two little teeth poking out of my lower jaw. I play with them a lot, bite my upper gums, run my tongue across them, that sort of thing. I’m still not quite sure why I need them, since all my food is pretty mushy, but it does make it fun to chomp on my toys. Chomp, Chomp!

2) Now I’ve got something to stand for.

Just to be different, just to shirk the system and take the challenges at my own pace, I decided to do this one completely out of order. I’ve been sitting pretty well for months. And I’ve been able to pull myself up to my feet for a couple weeks. But on Tuesday of this week, I freaked poor Mommy out by simply standing up in the middle of the room. Nothing to hold onto. I just propped myself into an A shape and pushed myself up. Mommy and I stared at each other for about five seconds or so before I toppled over. We laughed and laughed. I did it again a bit later just to prove it wasn’t a fluke, and then decided to put that trick on the shelf and I haven’t done it since. I like to make my parents brag about my accomplishments…and then stop doing things just so all their friends think they might just be lying.

3) Knee-Based Locomotion

Having proven that I am fully capable of standing on my own two-feet, I was then willing to consider more traditional methods of baby mobility. I therefore set my mind to the challenge of the crawl. My major problem with this form of travel has been my feet. I lean forward from a sitting position to get crawling, but my foot would always get caught on my other leg…preventing me from forward motion. I could move around, but it was a complex maneuver in which I would lean forward, pivot and then push myself back into a sitting position about one foot closer to my goal. Repeat maneuver until the goal had been reached. It was effective…but tedious. However, by using the A-frame method that led to such success in the standing feat, I have overcome this hurdle and have become a child on the go. I did it once for Daddy on Wednesday night while Mommy taught piano. But, I refused to do it again so that Mommy would be tempted to dismiss Daddy’s claim. Then, just this morning, I did it again and Mommy said, “Moksha, come here! She’s crawling.” And Daddy said, “Yeah…that’s exactly what she did the other night.” But he still hugged me and acted all excited about it again. And then they argued over what date to put in my baby book since Mommy still didn’t seem convinced Daddy knew what he was talking about.

Grown-ups are so funny.

4) Movin’ On Up

Having mastered the art of standing and the art of forward motion, I’m now working on merging the two into what my research says is called “cruising.” Right after Mommy wrote down Wednesday as my first crawl, I pulled myself up to the couch and cruised a few steps to reach for a pillow. Just a tease for the old folks. Then I dropped to my knees and scooted away to get a dog toy.

Over all, I’m pretty pleased with my week. My teeth kinda hurt and that wakes me up in the night. But that’s ok. Since I can move around so much now, I don’t even try to go back to sleep. I just roam around the crib and scream for Mommy and Daddy. Rolling and crawling and pulling yourself up on the crib bars are all wonderful ways to keep yourself from accidentally falling asleep.

I would, in fact, count this week as just about perfectly done on my part except for one thing. I may have overplayed my cards. As I was crawling off into the dining room, I overheard Mommy say to Daddy, “Oh….she’s growing up so fast.”