Do you want to know a secret?
I am both fascinated and frustrated by stairs. I have been walking independently for months but the stairs are still an obstacle. For a while I was content crawling up the stairs but after a few times I wanted to be able to walk up and down them like Mommy and Daddy.
When I was able to take my first steps without my push toy, I thought now I can do stairs! Not the case.
They stump me…
I cannot quite figure how to make it work. Sometimes I just crawl up them but now I am starting to use the spokes (that’s what Mommy says they are called) to hold myself up. Mommy says they are really there for safety but I believe they were made for toddlers like me. Although I get frustrated and sometimes I cry, I am going to keep trying.
Bella’s Mom
My daughter is an overachiever. Since her early days, I have watched her channel her focus into each new development. I have observed her express frustration but as quickly as she feels it she releases it. Before my eyes are watch her go right back and try, try again until she is able to roll over, then crawl, and now walk. The stairs have been her daily objective for several months now. It does make me nervous. I want to her to explore but I fear that she will get hurt. It is a daily compromise to make time this skill and treat it as a game. If I block off the stairs, my over ambitious child will still find a way to practice her daily feat.
The irony is I am jealous as much as I am inspired by her ambition. She does not let her failures hold her back and instead uses them as motivation. I pray she never loses this mindset and continues to inspire me and others. Another little secret, I will be sad when she can climb the stairs on her own for I will not have to follow her any more. I remind myself to enjoy these moments with her for one day I am going to have to let her climb this mountain and other mountains on her own. Although I will always be ready to follow her wherever she goes.