I was holding my 11-month grandson yesterday and he is off to the races. All of a sudden he is very mobile and gaining strength quickly. He’s got a nice stiff arm when he decides he’d rather be held by Dad or Mom. Thankfully he is quite content in my arms but when I put him down his crawl is gaining pace. But in no time he’s going to be on his feet and a whole other ballgame starts.

When they crawl for the first time it’s about the speed they had when discovering how to roll side to side and even when they slowly pick up speed you can catch them either with a long reach or one step. It’s still a crawl and easily contained. Then they discover things that help them get vertical but can’t fully do it on their own yet.

Then those first steps. I can even see his mind turning when he’s standing up against something. The legs still look like one of those air balloon figures you see outside the car dealerships but that is a short time before they get their coordination and strength and they then are off like the toddler above.

I can’t believe the speed that his first year is going. Just like I couldn’t believe it with my granddaughter a few years ago. I’m so glad to be part of their lives and I hope to be around for many milestones of theirs.