The Number Field

Elena made a big decision on Sunday, without even telling us. She decided that she is now a walker, not a crawler. The transition was so sudden that there must be some reason for it; she's had all the skills for some time now, so that can't be it. We first noticed at church, so the two most likely explanations are that she really noticed that all the adults and big kids walk, and decided that she wanted to be like them. It could also be that her pretty spring dress made crawling too hard, and she realized that she could just get around better if she walked.

Regardless of the reason, Elena walked all over the church building--up and down hallways, in and out of rooms. She navigated through the crowds and got right back up whenever she fell down. She didn't fall often, even though she did wobble and frequently had to check her balance.

It wasn't just a one day thing. Since then she's been a big walker. When she gets tired or really needs to move fast, she'll go back to crawling, but there's less of that every day. In just a little while, she'll learn a new way of moving--Jenny signed up for "mommy and me" swim classes, starting in June. Elena enjoyed the water last year, so this year we hope to learn some techniques that will move her towards aquatic independence.

P.S. I would like to upload pictures of Elena in her Easter dress, but I have already exceeded my monthly upload quota on flickr. I'm considering other options, but I would like to keep everything consolidated at flickr. A one year upgrade to a pro account, with unlimited uploads, costs $24.95. In the spirit of the NPR fund drive going on at our local station, I'm not above asking for donations. If this blog is valuable to you, and you enjoy seeing pictures of Elena, perhaps you would like to help defray the cost? (Do I hear some grandparents in the audience?) Please get in touch with me if you're interested in helping out.