Look out world, Alba has started walking. She took her first few steps on April 29th while playing, but she was so hyper in the moment that I don’t think she realised it. For the next two months she was happy to just continue crawling around and practicing her standing, till over the weekend she suddenly became a full-fledged walker.
There’s no holding her back now. As soon as she’s had enough of me reading to her or feeding her, she flips herself and slides off the couch or chair and is on her way. She’s a busy lady and these cuddles and kisses are fun and all, but they cramp her style.
Another trick she has learnt, is how to say “no”, pronounced as “noooooooooow.” She can now make sure that Hasani and I know how she wants things done around here. I never knew how concerned she was with the layout of the living room, till she decided to re-arrange it for us. She cleared the television table by pulling all the pictures and coasters off it and dragging a bag of potatoes from the kitchen to the middle of the floor as a centrepiece.
Then the paper in my bedroom drawer was starting to pile up so she saw to it for me by shredding them all. Her clothes apparently were not arranged as she wanted them to be, so she emptied them all out on the ground for me to pack back properly. And I keep annoying her by arranging her toys and teddies in her playpen, so she must crawl in through the flap she discovered and strew them all over the floor at every opportunity she gets.
When I change her in the park, she needs to let everyone know that she is not happy about it by screaming “nooooooow, nooooooow, noooooooow” at the top of her voice. At baby group last week, the facilitator was smiling too much with her, so she had to shout “nooooow” and turn her face. If her dinner is not up to standard, it’s another “nooooooow” as she tries to climb down from the highchair and make her escape. And naptime is now her leaning back, holding her hands in the air and screaming “nooooow” to the heavens above for someone to come save her.
However, miraculously, walking is tiring her out. Finally, something can get Alba tired. Halleluja! Knock on wood, she is falling asleep much easier now, waking up fewer times in the night and for shorter periods, and even occasionally dosing back off at 5am and sleeping till 7am! So, bring on the toddler years! I’ll take temper tantrums and messy rooms any day for a few more hours of sleep. After a year on minimal sleep, I’m loving this toddler phase.
