First steps?

Lauren took her first "steps" today. I say it like this because I've started to realize that I'm not really sure if it counts or not. Does it count is she doesn't realize she's walking on her own? Lauren woke at 6 this morning and Daniel was nice enough to get up and let me sleep in. I got up at 9 and could hear them in the living room. The moment she saw me she took off almost in a run toward me with Dan holding her hands. Dan decided to let go when she was a few steps away. She didn't notice and continued walking into my arms. Then this afternoon we were both playing around with her and decided to get her to walk to each other. It was only a few steps and she doesn't start walking on her own it's just once she's started she'll keep going a few extra steps unaided.

We've decided to continue with this strategy and spend 5 minutes a day playing this game. She's been walking around the furniture for a while now and it's crazy to see how much more confident she is with herself so I expect it'll be the same with walking on her own. She stands for a while by herself and isn't afraid to reach across or bend down to pick something up with one hand. We've known she could walk on her own for a while, at the moment she only holds onto us with one hand and it's rarely used as support. She just needs to build her confidence and not sit the moment she realizes she's standing by herself.

I do see a bit of an issue though if this is going to be her preferred way of getting around. Because she has decided not to crawl if I put her in the middle of the room she's still stuck. The only way she can get to standing is if she's near something she can pull herself up on. Who knows though maybe the motivation of walking around will be enough to make her start crawling. Even if it is just to the closest piece of furniture.

My friend happened to be visiting with her daughter so she filmed it for us. I'll put it up when I get Dan to put it on my laptop (yes I'm useless with computers!)