The first of many steps

It's just me and the little man for now, with the darling wife out of town on work, so yesterday we went for a walk in the gorgeous 70-something degrees, and when we came home we played with his walker.

His walker is a rather unwieldy plastic car with a big plastic handle on it – it's shaped a bit like a lawnmower. It's intended to train babies in walking, and last night he finally got the hang of it – though he likes to push it sideways, rather than from behind. It's a lot like pushing a lawnmower from the side, with the wheels not engaging or rolling at all, and it looks like a LOT more work, but on our tile floor it's fairly easy.

I cut up some orange slices and was feeding them to him, and he responded so positively I started working what I could get him to do for one.

For example – would he walk?

So far, the little man has been skating on the brink of walking for about a month or two. He can stand and walk with support very, very easily – and he's displayed a frightening aptitude for climbing – but he doesn't particularly like walking away from support. Though he does achieve a bit of a drunken stumble while bridging the gap in between two chairs or tables or whatever.

And last night, after some coercion from me, the cruelest daddy, he took 3-5 steps away from his walker, and stood, unsupported, while I fed him a piece of orange.

It was quite fun, and exhilarating in that ridiculous way all childhood achievements are – you think, I am yelling and clapping because this person took a single step and remained upright. But still! It's something he's never done before. The first of many.

We practiced for a bit, because daddy, being The Cruelest Daddy, wanted to get to 7-10 steps. But he began to protest, and we had to eat some green beans.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE for my son to continue walking – and to walk straight on into college – might I suggest possibly purchasing THE TROUPE?