Standing Up

Alivia is now just past 9 months old. She is taking steps while holding on to my fingers. She wants to do this ALL the time, and is totally disenchanted by merely sitting around. The problem is, not only do I get a sore back from doing this, but I can't get anything done! If I sit her in a room with a bunch of toys, she'll army crawl on her belly until she finds me, then grab the hem of my pants and cry. I'll usually pick her up then, to save her from my dirty floors. Her little hands and the front of her shirt are always coated with cat hair, dust, and other unidentifiable bits of food. Gross. Maybe I should attach some dust rags to her clothes...

Anyway, she has finally learned how to stand up holding on to something else besides me. She's getting pretty good at balancing, but cannot pull herself up from a sitting position. So I have to help her up. But then she'll stand there for quite some time, thrilled with her new found independence. Occasionally, she'll let go to grab a toy with both hands, then quickly figure out that's not such a great idea when she falls over. She's just getting to the age where she will soon be covered with bruises. I can hardly wait.

So yesterday, I stood her next to the coffee table where Ethan was playing with his motorized marble run. She was having fun watching the marbles go back and forth, and up and down. Sometimes, a marble would jump off the track and roll onto the table in front of her. Then I or Ethan would quickly snatch it away before she could try to eat it. It's hard baby proofing a house full of big boy toys. Not to mention when certain boys don't clean up their toys when I ask ever so nicely...argh. Needless to say, we have to keep a close eye on the littlest member of our family. She does love to taste everything.