These pics were taken in April, and somehow they were never posted, maybe because Emrick looks so dreary-eyed in most of them.

IN OTHER NEWS, Emrick is one step closer to walking independently (and well). Yesterday, he took his first real hands-free steps, unprompted  by me or Marcus.

For quite a while now, Marcus and I have “practiced” with Emrick, by having him walk back and forth between us (remember that video?). But Emrick has otherwise done all of his walking while holding on to walls and furniture. That has all changed now! Yesterday I was with him in the play room and he was holding on to a little chair we have in there. All of a sudden he let go of the chair and walked to the middle of the room, 7 or 8 steps, and then dropped to his knees. I couldn’t believe it. Then, in the evening when Marcus was home, he did it several more times.

Anyway, it’s amazing, but scary, too. His balance is still very imperfect, and so when he gets close to his destination he gets excited to “land” there, and he sort of lets himself fall forward, knowing that he will be caught by the object in front of him. Now, that’s just fine when the object in front of him is the soft couch. But as of last night, he now also lands/falls toward walls, shelves, glass doors, and other hard surfaces! Its is going to require constant vigilance!  The playroom had become the one room where I could sit down in there with him, but not necessarily look at him every second because there wasn’t any way he could really hurt himself, and he was allowed to touch and trash everything in there. No hard tile, no sharp objects. But now! Now he stops his walking momentum by landing forehead first on the built-in shelves. And the thing is, he starts moving so fast. One second he’s holding on to the outside wall of the play pen, I turn my head to cough, and when I turn it back, he is halfway to the door, on his feet. And I need to be there to catch him!

Ah, well. Hopefully this phase  won’t last more than a couple of weeks, and he will walk totally independently, and safely, without relying on walls for brakes. That’s how it was with the cruising. His cruising was clumsy, and I was always following him around while he did it because he hit his head so easily. Then he cruised like a pro, and learned to fall on his butt instead of his head. So as long as we were in the playroom, I let him cruise across the room from me. So, I guess the same progression will happen with the hands-free walking. Sooner rather than later, I hope!