First steps

Our extremely humongously big girl  took her first steps last night! She has done shuffly/falling "steps" before and we didn't count them, but last night there was no denying it. While I sat right there, apparently too glazed over with exhausion to notice, Dave screamed, "Did you see that? She WALKED to me!"

Well I hadn't seen it! And I was mad! Because I was right next to her! She'd been standing against the couch and Dave was sitting a few feet away, behind her. She turned around, took three tottering steps toward him, and collapsed in his arms! We have a WALKER!

We were so excited we practiced with her over and over for about a half hour. We screamed and cheered when she toddled to us, her mouth so wide with ecstacy you could drive a bus inside. Every time she turned around and came to me I squealed and clapped and swept her up in a hug and she hugged me back, tight around the neck- also something new. The only problem was, she was so excited with herself that when we'd try to stand her up to start again, she would laugh and clap for herself and lean forward so far with anticipation that it was hard to balance her to begin with. But if we could calm her enough to stand her up straight on her own, she could always take a few steps by herself.

Also new: she has started giving high fives. It's too much. It's like she's a real person. And the cuteness of it all is killing me.