My Little Stinker Has A Secret

Gracen is 14 months and has been crawling for a while and we have been trying to encourage her to walk for some time now. She can cruise all over the place, walking along while holding onto furniture, hands, walker toys, you name it. I just thought she liked crawling and that eventually she would decide walking was faster. Well apparently, unbeknownst to all of us, she already knows this and has decided not to share it with anyone! I have seen her on numerous occasions walking when she didn’t know she was being observed, and twice when she happened to turn and see me she immediately dropped to her knees and crawled the rest of the way, acting like nothing had happened. Another time she began to walk right in front of me, Craig and Dylan and as soon as she realized what she was doing she got a look on her face like “Whoops, they’re looking at me, better crawl!” and she immediately dropped to her knees and crawled the rest of the way.
I realized she didn’t want us to know she could walk because then we wouldn’t pick her up and carry her all of the time. She thinks Haven is her personal taxi service, and Haven LOVES to carry Gracen everywhere, but it’s probably because she thinks Gracen is a big doll and lots of fun to play with. I must admit it’s a lot faster to be carried by Haven, or anyone else for that matter, than Gracen could walk or crawl so it’s no wonder she doesn’t want us to know she can walk. I have tried telling everyone not to pick her up all of the time, but my request has fallen on deaf ears, and all Gracen needs to do is sqeak and someone swoops in, picking her up and taking her wherever she wants.
It’s funny how with each baby they all began walking a little bit later, and a little bit later until here we are and Gracen has the system all figured out. Dylan walked at 9 1/2 months, Ciel at 10 1/2 and each baby thereafter walked after their first birthday, so the more older siblings my babies have had the less need they had for walking. It’s nothing new, and our Dr. said it was the same with his children but it’s still pretty funny all the same. To think we’ve been fooled for who knows how long! Also, Gracen really loves boots. She doesn’t care what size the boots are or who they belong to, she wants them on her feet so she can admire herself and see how beautiful she looks in them. I love the way she always makes me laugh, she knows she’s funny! And how she fits the determined spirit of a giant into her tiny little baby body is beyond me. What a cute little stinker!