On the move

She has been crawling for a while but not with any style - sometimes crab style, sometimes soldier style - but without interest in a 'proper crawl'. That was not to be for long. As quickly as the other two, at 7 months, she got the idea of standing every time she came across an object worthy of her pull-uppance. So, logically, the crawl is a means to arriving at yet another fascinating destination.

As a result, we now see the speedy, proper crawl that she frantically demonstrates, especially now that she's started to explore the other rooms. It's such a funny thing to watch. Baby thinks she's on the run and turns to look at us to see if we're coming to get her. It's a favorite 'lazy game' of parents. The threat of 'I'm gonna get you' is so exciting that they never notice that it's just a shift of our weight that sends them shrieking in the other direction. We have no intention of getting up - why ruin a moment of baby's happiness that does not require a parent (namely, Mommy) to be holding her to achieve the desired result?

It's always a surprise to discover just what makes a baby decide to make that initial move. All three girls soldier crawled and crawled on their foreheads quite early but each had a different source of inspiration to lift that belly and stop those rug burns. With Emma, it was Daddy's laptop. With Hallie, it was a crawling Mickey Mouse toy. With Anna, it is Hallie and the promise of an object just low enough to help her stand. If we want her to crawl, we just set down one of those precious things that did NOT come from a toy store. A water bottle, a cold soda can, any form of crinkly paper or the mail, and recently, a book opened to the page in progress, brings her faster than a speeding bullet. Will she crawl to people? Not a chance. She won't even let people hold her so unless we plant a Coke or Arrowhead bottle (preferred) at the feet of each family member, they ought not to plan on getting a snuggle from this baby. Besides, with all that crawling to do, why would she want to be stuck at rest stop when the open road stretches before her? Well, until she reaches the gate at the end of the line, that is.