Mallory in the world of the walking

Wow. From a first few steps, tentative and heading for the floor from the outset on Monday, to an explosion of the ambulatory today. Mallory is seriously walking now.

It was like one of those Jiffy Pop popcorn things. First a step, then five, then five hundred.

Mallory and I were hanging out earlier this afternoon while Irene was out with a friend. We’d started playing this little game where she’d be leaning up against the back door, looking out its window, I’d walk a couple of paces away, and sit down facing her. I’d call to her and she would walk to me.

She did this twice before deciding to kick it old school and crawl.

Then she wanted to go back to the living room and I escorted her there, she walking, me holding her hand for balance. She walked with me all the way to the cat scratching post on one side of the living room, and stayed there, holding on to the thing.

I walked to the chair on the other side of the room and sat down. (We’d been at this for a couple of hours and I was getting a bit tired of it).

She walked back across the room toward me. And when she got there, she didn’t want to stop.

We spent the next forty minutes or so walking around the house. She, ahead of me, holding her arms out like an infant frankenstein monster, me following behind, giggling in amazement and encouraging her at every step.

When Irene came home, she was eight feet away, holding on to the plant stand at our front window.

“Show mommy your new trick,” I said. And she did, stomping up to mommy with more enthusiasm than your average labrador retriever puppy.

And so it begins.
Mallory walks