He Walks, He Carries Things, He Dribbles, He Rocks

Two of my most loyal followers and great bloggers themselves, Weasel Momma and Surprised Mom, suggested a little while back that I give them some video of Braden.

Well I have tried for a long while to get what I thought was blogworthy video. Every time I get out the camera Braden ceases whatever great activity he is doing and comes after me and the camera. I can never get anything.

Finally I got this.

An optimist might say he can walk so well that he is able to carry things. A pessimist might say he is using the ball to help balance and prevent falls. The all knowing friend or relative that likes to predict the future might say he is going to be a basketball player.

Arica and I say that he is amazing.

Walk Like a Man

I got a birthday present that I didn’t expect on Sunday. It was a type of bittersweet present. It was bitter because I wasn’t there to see it. Still it was a sweet milestone achieved. On my birthday in the year of our Lord two thousand and nine Braden took his first steps.

According to Arica he took four or five steps. They had just got home and were bringing some bags into the house. All of a sudden Braden just took off walking for them. I think the only reason he stopped was that Mommy and Grandma’s screaming scared him half to death. If I was there I would be screaming too. Way to go little buddy.

Since then I have been thinking about how a baby’s mind comes to the decision it is time to try walking. This is a huge step for them. It must me petrifying. So what can we as adults compare to this in our lives? What have we ever done that took the same nerve that it would take to try walking for the first time?

The only thing I could think of from my life was the first time I tried to water ski. I was thinking this is great. I am great. Soon I will be super cool. All of a sudden reality strikes. I think wait a minute. I am holding on to this rope. The other end is tied to a super fast ski boat. I have these two wooden planks under my feet. What part of this is a good idea?

In TV land I have another comparison. TV land often times intersects with reality in my head. I find myself telling stories sometimes about things that happened in TV shows like I was there. That is a story for another time. Actually that is a story for my therapist. Back to how Braden walking relates to TV land. I think the decision he made to try, and the courage he must have mustered up inside his little baby gut compares to Frodo’s quest to destroy the ring. Little hairy footed Frodo had to travel to Mordor and cast the ring into the fires of Mount Doom. That even sounds intimidating. Along the way all sorts of evil things were after him. Yet he decided to do it for the good of Middle Earth. Frodo took on the perils for the better good. (Thank you for tolerating my inner Tolkien dork.)

I would think that in a babies mind walking probably seems about as perilous as Mount Doom, Sauron, and the Uruk-hai. Letting go for the first time and trying to balance yourself while moving forward is no small feat. However, since the beginning of time babies have always made that scary choice. So why do they do it? It must be the quest for freedom that drives them to take such chances.

They crawl. They walk. They drive. They go to college and so on.

Congrats Braden on reaching the second step on your journey to freedom.

Stand Up Baby

Braden is so active that it only stands to reason that he will start walking as soon as possible. He walks around all the furniture while holding on. He walks along doors or walls or anything that he can use to keep himself upright.

Recently Arica and I have been holding his hands while he walks around the living room. He does this really well. At least he does well until he decides he would rather sit down. Sometimes we only hold on to one of his hands. He can walk that way too although it is a little tougher for him. He also lunges from the furniture to either Arica or me. He can take one or two steps during this move as well.

Today at lunch I was sitting on the floor with Braden. He crawled over to me and put his hands on my legs. He was propped up there looking at me. Then all of a sudden he just stood up. He was standing on his own two feet without holding on for several seconds. Arica and I looked at each other in disbelief as if Braden had just sprouted wings.

So now we know that he can stand if he wants too. Walking is the next step. Pun intended.

Babies are Daredevils

It amazes me how babies learn. The come into the world a blank slate, and they start learning right away. The learning taking place at our house now is the build up to walking. Braden loves to stand up. He pulls up on the ottoman all the time. He pulls up on the doors, the gate, the tables, his toys, my legs, Arica's legs, and everything else he can find.

Braden pulling up on things all the time is great. I am glad he likes standing up so much. I am glad he is trying to learn the skills needed for walking. What scares me is his cavalier attitude.

In the beginning he would just let go of his support whenever he was standing. That led to plenty of collisions between his head and the floor. Finally Braden learned to sit down gently. This type of trial and error learning is crazy. It must be how the X-games nuts learn. They try to flip their bike over and over until either they break their neck or learn the trick. Those are really the only two options.

Now that Braden can go from standing to sitting easily he is more into trying to walk along the furniture while holding on. He leans more than he walks, but he is able to move a little bit. The remote and our cell phones laying on the ottoman is his greatest motivation. The crazy thing is when he tries to go from the ottoman to the chair. He lets go and leans. It is the equivalent of jumping from one roof top to another. Any normal person would be scared to death to make this leap. Braden does it as if there are no consequences.

This is how all babies learn to walk. The method is crazy if you really think about it. Trial and error is always a great way to learn, but learning anything by taking repeated blows to the head is a bit wacky. Such is the life of a baby. If they ever want to learn to walk then they must risk life and limb.

I can't wait until Braden Kenievel's next stunt.