Walker Progress

During summer break one of the things Whitney has been working on is getting more self-sufficient with her walker. I can't believe the progress she has made. We put an emphasis on getting up on her feet and turning around to face forward all by herself, instead of needing someone to do this for her. Soon she was doing this on her own with just a bit of coaxing. Then all of the sudden this past week or so, she is getting in and out of the walker by herself all the time. She cruises all around the house with it now and we don't even notice until we see her walk by.

Which brings me to the second walker skill she's acquired recently. For the last year she could only walk in a straight line because she lacked the strength and balance to turn. But now Whitney will pick the walker's front wheel's up, turn it the direction she wants to go and put the wheels back down again. It's amazing! She's improved her balance so much and now she can go where ever she wants!

Lastly, we're still working on stamina. And just yesterday, Melanie worked with Whitney and got her to walk all the way around the block without needing to be carried. It was the very first time she's made it all the way. She stopped multiple times and signed "done" and her legs got a bit shaky but she kept going with a little encouragement from Mommy. We cheered for her as she got to our front lawn and dropped to her knees.

So while she may be dependent on a walker for the foreseeable future, she is so proud of herself for getting around without any help from Mom or Dad. And she's getting really good at it. Melanie and I are pretty proud too!