Cora has abandoned the idea of crawling. It is too hard, and the payoff is not worth the effort. She spent a week or so really trying, but found she was getting nowhere. Initially she was optimistic and really tried hard, but the more time she spent on her tummy, not moving, the less she liked it. She has now given it up. Don’t get her wrong – if she suddenly found she was able to crawl, she would be happy to do it, but she does not feel that it is worth any effort. Now, as soon as she finds herself on her tummy, she shouts very loudly, and if she remains on her tummy, she switches to screaming. She has found that shouting and screaming very, very loudly are the best ways of getting what she wants. Whenever she is in a position she doesn’t like, the fastest way to change position is to shout as loudly as possible. Usually she finds herself in a new position very quickly.
Instead of crawling, Cora Rose has set her sights higher. She will walk. This is how everyone else gets around. This is how her big sister gets around, and gets around quickly. This is how other kids get around. And you can see things and reach things when you are walking.
There is only one way to do this. It is to remain on her feet at all times, in all situations. She used to be content to sit and play with toys. But that is not how winners get ahead in life. That is no longer acceptable. Sometimes, when Mommy and Daddy want to accomplish something, they try to put Cora Rose sitting on the ground with toys. Cora can sense when this is about to happen and will scream before she even touches the ground. She will straighten her whole body like a board and arch it forward, so it is impossible to bend her in the middle – so the only thing the parent can do is put her down, standing, on her feet. This is fine. She can stand up holding a parent’s hand, or the couch, or the table, as long as she is standing.
This plan was enacted a week or two ago, but today, Cora Rose felt it was necessary to up the ante. She had not yet gotten the hang of walking (and don’t even try to tell her she’s only 7 months old – she doesn’t care!). She felt this was due to lack of practice. Previously, she was happy either being carried, or with her feet on the ground, but today there was too much carrying, and not enough practice time. She let her parents know that carrying was no longer an option. Her big sister wasn’t being carried around! Why should Cora Rose be carried around? Yes, they were in a gift shop at the top of a mountain. Who cared? It was a fine place to walk. Yes, Mommy’s and Daddy’s arms were full and they were trying to herd Annie. Excuses, excuses! It was walk time.
So Cora walked all over the gift shop, holding Mommy’s hands and looking very pleased with herself. Sometimes Mommy tried to pick her up, saying silly things like “my back!” but Cora promptly began thrashing around and screaming, reminiscent of a fish who wants very much to get back into the water. And so Cora found herself back on the ground on her own two feet, toddling around the gift shop, standing up in the gondola, standing up at the table when everyone else was sitting down, and generally standing in Mommy’s or Daddy’s lap whenever they were sitting down. Yes, crawling was a failure. But Cora is optimistic again now. Walking will come soon, and it will be worth the effort!