Bows, and Shoes, and Walking! Oh, my!

My tiny girl likes to have a say in what she wears already. The other day I brought down their clothes to wear along with a few bows to choose from. Ella decided that she wanted to wear all of the bows in her hair-- at the SAME time! She was nakey at this time and was pretty persistent about wearing her shoes too. She absolutely loves to accessorize and wants to wear her shoes all the time with everything. So here she is wearing bows, shoes, and a diaper, but nothing else. What a piece of work!

Somehow we lost the bows...

We finally got dressed.

And for some news that many of you have been waiting for...

Evan has officially joined the walking crowd! He started taking little baby steps, but the past 2 days he's increased the amount and distance that he'll go. And I must say, he is pretty stinkin' good at it too! What's funny is that he keeps his arms up in the air while walking. Not sure why. Maybe balance? As much as I wanted to keep them little, I can't believe how cute he looks and how proud I am!

As for Ella, she could care less. She'll watch and cheer him on, but it doesn't seem to encourage her! =) I did some research a few days ago about the whole walking issue. I knew that they E & E were coming up on the end of the walking spectrum, so I wanted to check and see when exactly the range was. Apparently the "normal" range is from 9-16 months.

Here's a segment of the article from Dr. Sears' website... sorry it's kind of long, but I thought it was interesting and was RIGHT ON with our babies-- it describes them PERFECTLY!

Here's the link if you'd like to check out other stuff: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t107100.asp

There are early walkers and late walkers. Around fifty percent of babies usually walk by one year, but there is a wide normal range of walking, from nine to sixteen months. Walking is a matter of coordinating three factors: muscle strength, balance, and temperament, and the latter seems to influence the age of walking the most. Babies with easier temperaments often approach major developmental milestones more cautiously. Since crawling is speedier than walking anyway, confirmed crawlers are content to zip around on the floor like miniature racecars and show no interest in joining the tall and busy world.

Late walkers are more like to be content to entertain themselves with seeing and fingering fun than with motor accomplishments. A late walker goes through the crawl-cruise-stand-walk sequence slowly and cautiously, calculating each step and progressing at his own comfortable rate. When he does finally walk, he walks well.

The early walker, on the contrary, may be the impulsive, motor-driven baby who has raced through every motor milestone before parents could get their camera ready. While there is no definite profile of early walkers, they tend to be high-need babies who early on left the lap stage and squirmed out of infant seats. Body type may also affect the age of walking. Lean babies tend to walk earlier. Early and impulsive walkers are often more accident-prone than their cautious walking mates.

Parents who carry their babies a lot often ask, "Will I delay her walking by carrying her around so much?" The answer is no. In fact in our experience, and in the studies of others, babies who are the product of the attachment style of parenting (for example, worn in a baby sling for many hours a day) often show more advanced motor skills. No matter which baby in the neighborhood walks first or wins the speed race, the age of walking has nothing to do with eventual intelligence of motor skills. When and how your baby walks is as unique as his personality.

So I'll have to post a video clip soon. For now, here's a few cute pics of my sweet little man!