When pride and fear collide
Guess who’s climbing now?
….and falling off headfirst every darn time.
Yep, at a time when most babies her age are thinking, “Gee I sure wish there was some way to get to that toy that’s over a metre away” Louisette is not just crawling, but walking across a room (with her hands held). In fact she’s not just walking across a room with her hands held, she’s cruising – walking along and around furniture while holding on to it (no parental intervention necessary!). And, as I may have mentioned, she can now climb stuff. Her idea, not mine.
To be fair to all those other (patently inferior) babies out there, Louisette also excels in a Frodo-esque lack of self-preservation instincts. One of my best friends has a two-year old that has only just started walking independently. . . because that is a child that understood gravity and the potential for pain almost completely WITHOUT the usual lengthy experimentation/spinal injury period. Louisette is. . . at the other end of the scale. It’s the dangerous end, but it’s also the awesome end, and I wouldn’t have it any other way*.
She continues to love adventure and excitement, which is a good thing because I just got ANOTHER job! Between my two jobs (plus a little tutoring) I’ll be working full-time (and earning considerably more than I’ve ever earned before) from the end of October – probably for about a year. This will make a big difference when we buy a house next year**.
Louisette is presently for absolutely all of my work hours. And so the adventure continues.
*until my second child. They can learn to crawl when they’re four.
**fingers crossed. . .
Felicity Banks 
buckbear said,
September 28, 2012 at 9:48 am
That last photo looks like the beginning of something that was an excellent idea at the time.
Looking forward to coming down, seeing you and indulging my lack of maternal instincts. 😉 Actually I’m teaching child communication development at the moment, so I’ll be watching anything Louisette does and analysing it for age-typicality. (I’ll only elaborate if you ask).
Louise Curtis said,
September 28, 2012 at 11:35 am
Awesome! I’d love to hear you elaborate on your observational experiment on my kid! At the moment she’s loving saying “Dad-dad-dad-dad-dad” anytime she’s happy – and she’s not the only one in our similar-age baby group.
buckbear said,
September 28, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Canonical babbling! An early prelinguistic speech stage. Soon she’ll start varying the syllable she uses and make it have more English-like intonation. She might also start using made-up words for specific situations, which is the last stage before she gives you her first word. She probably already understands 100 or so words, and uses combinations of gesture and vocalisation to communicate what she wants (assisted by your interpretation). If you give me permission I would take some video as example, so I don’t have to rely on youtube.
Louise Curtis said,
September 28, 2012 at 2:29 pm
I’d have to check with CJ, but I reckon that’d be fine. She says “Mum” when she’s unhappy (especially if we’re not within sight).