News Flash! Hannalee CAN Walk

For the past couple of weeks Hannalee has been gaining more and more balance. She loves playing the game where she walks from Bob to me and then back to Bob. At first we had to get her balanced before she started to move. Slowly Bob and I have been widening the gap for her to walk. She was getting pretty good and could walk across our living room.

But she would only walk if it was a game where she had to get from one person to the next. I tried to stand her up in the middle of the room and let her walk to the couch, but as soon as she figured out I was no longer holding on to her she would sit down.

Well, yesterday she had a break through. She figured out that walking is not only a fun game, but it also gets you places you want to go. Bob and I were playing the walking game with her in the living room when my timer went off for the banana bread I had in the oven. I sent Hannalee to walk over to Bob then I got up to go check the bread. Moments later I heard Bob call, "She's coming for you." And sure enough, Hannalee had turned around and was coming to find me. She walked all the way across the living room, through the dining room, and into the kitchen. She even navigated turning around the cupboards to find me by the oven! Such a big girl!

Now, she will try walking to get places. She still has some balance issues and falls after a few feet. And once she's down she resorts back to crawling to get the rest of the way. Walking is not far away now.

PS Look at Hannie's hair. Her very first braid!