Baby steps

Eilidh has reached one of the most special milestones of all. Yesterday she took her first steps.

She's been standing up for a while (from sitting, without pulling up on anything) and looking extremely pleased with herself, but was hesitant to move her feet.

Yesterday she stood up, grinning and I moved backwards away from her a little and held out my hands to encourage her - and she did it! Two little steps. Then I scooped her up because I could not bear Daddy to miss this, and waited for him to get home. After some coaxing, she then took several steps from me to Daddy.

They are very small steps and she is definitely not ready to start 'taking off' anytime soon, but seeing her wibbly wobbly steps and the pride on her face is just so amazing. She knows she is doing something very clever! I'm so glad that we both got to see it, I've been anxious for weeks that she would take her first steps at nursery and I'd miss it. Arran took his first steps in front of both of us and his Granny on her 60th birthday, so Eilidh had a lot to live up to!

In typical Eilidh style, she has refused to attempt any steps since then, and any 'walk to mama!' encouragement is greeted with a firm 'No!' and her sitting down again. I'm in no rush, though. When she starts properly walking then she will be a toddler and not a baby anymore...

She seems to have hit a developmental spurt at the moment too as she has new teeth arriving (at last!) and her vocabulary has exploded (recent additions being cheese, please, yes, bye bye, uhoh and, best of all, 'Brubba' for Arran, which is always exclaimed with great delight). The two of them have a lovely bond and we have overcome her hatred for her high chair (and the subsequent mealtime stress) by letting her sit at a little table with Arran during meals. She loves to eat with him, and then they play together while we finish our meal in peace.

She's nothing like I imagined my daughter would be, but she's a billion times better. I pictured a little girl with brown curly hair and a placid nature. Eilidh has poker-straight wispy hair that flies in all directions but without a hint of a baby curl, and she is anything but placid. She's exuberant and excitable. Earlier, she crawled into my lap while I was sitting on the floor and we cuddled and chatted for a minute, but then I needed to go and do something. I lifted her gently and put her down next to me, but she realised what was happening and with a shriek of 'No!' she threw herself bodily back onto me - and how could I resist a bit more cuddling? Using a firm voice with her for any reason sends her into total despair - and I mean dramatically dropping herself flat on her face and losing the plot whilst sobbing. One time, Daddy actually raised his voice very slightly to her. Her precious Daddy! The meltdown that followed that was something to behold.

She is great fun to be around. She now sings 'Wind the bobbin up', but without most of the words, so just baby talk 'blah la la ceiling (point!), la ga glah floor (point!), blah blah, glah blah one, two three.... ' I love spying on her when she's playing like this.

She knows exactly what she wants. She'll go and get something, come to you, and not just pass it to you but reach for your arm, take your hand, unfold your fingers and place the object in your hand. She'll climb into your lap, grab both your hands and start swaying while saying 'row row row' until you sing to her. When you get to 'don't forget to roar' she lets out a massive roar that makes herself laugh. She has a pretty irresistible giggle. She's absolutely barking mad and likes to kneel on the floor and hold her arms out as she twists from side to side, grinning crazily at the sheer joy of the sensation. She loves nothing more than a crawling chase game that she and Arran play all the time, where she hares around after him, hair standing on end, giggling uncontrollably and letting out little shrieks when it all gets too much. She's feisty and fun and just utterly brilliant.

Comments

[Caroline]

OMG Eilidh is Merida. Merida is Eilidh. Apart from the hair. I honestly could have written 90% of this word for word about my beautiful girl. They have to meet.

[Gill Penny]

I love the joy you get from your family and reading your blog sends me off smiling. Oh, and I admire your generosity in holding the moment to share with your husband! Impressive!

[Claire]

I am so proud of my gorgeous god-daughter and her first steps! I love your blogs, it makes me feel part of your lives, even though we are so far away!