Walking...

She was at the baby gate, shaking it in frustration like King Kong. She was yelling out in frustration a mesh of baby talk and real words. I called out to her "Layla come here baby" thinking she would crawl over and I would give her the last of her formula before I put her down for a nap upstairs.

Then it happened. In a matter of seconds she turned around and took it. A clumsy little step which rocked her whole little body a little. Undetered she picked up the other foot and took another with her legs spread wide like an upside down Y she plugged ahead. Left. Right. Left.

By the fourth one I was clambering for my camera with one hand hoping she wouldn't notice and then realized I had taken my camera upstairs yesterday so I tuck my hand into my lap while she is standing there looking at me and pull out my cell phone.

"nan na" oh shit she's gonna stop and come get the phone...

But just as I click a picture she takes step number 7. Once she's in the middle of the room she realized the TV had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse coming on and she danced to the intro music. And then sat down to watch it.

That was it. She didn't even technically fall. She just stopped. And of course now that Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is on I can't get her to do it again. But I have one fuzzy picture and a memory that will last a lifetime.

In typical LaylaBug fashion she did it on her terms. It wasn't a clumsy step to Mommy or Daddy's outstretched arm or a careful set of steps next to something stable to hold on to. It was an adventure...and she took it on without a safety net.