It seems like however much progress babies make, people are mostly interested in the big milestones.  Are they sleeping through the night?  Are they eating solids?  Do they have teeth?  Have they had an enema?  Are they talking?  And of course, are they walking?  Usually the answers are, “yes, yes, yes, <cough>, no, no.”  However, as of last Sunday, we can officially revise this now-obsolete list and say, “yes, yes, yes, please stop asking, no, and YES.”

We expected that Dexter would go first, because he had pulled himself upright long before Nicholas, and was much better at crusing around the furniture.  We figured that this was primarily due to the size difference.  Nic, for all of his many strengths and adorable virtues, is not dainty.  Also, Dex had been doing really well at the “walk to Mommy” game, where we held him between us and tried to get him to walk back and forth.  Mostly, we tried twice before Nic would charge into the center of our catwalk and we’d have a wrestling match.  Nicholas would get really excited, forget to pick up his toes, and instead play, “Dive to mommy!”  He was very good at that game.  Dexter seemed to plateau, though.  Maybe it was because he started sprouting so many new teeth, or maybe his balance was off because of his colds.  Nic started standing a couple of weeks after Dex, and crusing a week or so later as well.  We knew that walking was eminent, but it was really hard to guess when it would happen.  I kept assuming it would be Thursday.  Predictably, I was wrong.

On October 3rd, Nicholas let go of the couch, and walked out into the room.  I say, “walked”, but it was more like, “strutted”.  He seemed to stick his stomach forward, using it for balance, like a tail.  Nicholas apparently has a prehensile belly.  He pulled his shoulders back and lifted his head high (his mother is very proud of his excellent posture), and just, walked.  Laura had been watching him all day, and while he’d cruised, and was willing to take a couple of faltering steps, there was no real walking.  But that evening, he just started, and hasn’t stopped.  The bruises are back, just as when they started crawling, but they’re well-earned, and the boys are good at shrugging them off.

On Thursday, October 8th, Dexter got tired of watching his brother have all the fun, and began his march.  Unlike his brother, Dexter doesn’t stick his belly out.  Instead, he bobs his head, kind of like a bird.  It’s like he’s moving his head to balance his body.  Whatever the style, it’s working for him, and yesterday they even managed to walk in shoes.

Here’s a few video clips of the action.

Brothers Walking (12.8 mb, 3:30)

As milestones gone, this is a big one.  I know it’s inevitable and all kids reach this point, some sooner, some later – but still, it’s hard not to be more than a little proud right now.  It’s just amazing to see these boys growing and learning and getting so smart, and figuring out things that just a few weeks ago they couldn’t comprehend.

And now the big question is, which one will talk first???

-Joel