Please ignore my dirty house...

...and enjoy the cuteness of these pictures!

I just love a baby in nothing but a diaper! And, you gotta love the tot squat.

This toy, and another smaller but similar one, has been Owyn's favorite toy for the past week. She has discovered that she can walk while holding on to it (one-handed) and a whole new world of exploration and adventure has been opened up to her. It's really been quite amazing to watch: just another thing to add to my list of reasons I love being a mommy.

Still, once she mastered the walker walking (hee hee, that little phrase made me giggle), she hasn't been content. Mike and I, of course, have done the usual parenting thing encouraging her to walk back and forth between us with minimal holding on. She was a little nervous about that at first, but, on Friday (April 24, 2009) she managed about three steps before grabbing on to my hands! WOOHOO! Three little steps were all the encouragement she needed and over the weekend she has been testing herself, getting further and steadier each time.

Now, Monday, she has been experimenting all day. I took this video about half an hour before she went to bed.

(Sorry about the bumpiness. She was trying to give me a kiss there at the end!) Yay! I'm so proud of her! I'm sitting here trying to think of words to describe my excitement for her and my respect for her, but nothing comes. I love how a little baby who isn't even a year yet can teach me lessons on persistence, patience, practice, and perserverence (ha! They all start with "P"! I didn't do that on purpose). She doesn't let her mistakes get to her (too much...it depends on how tired she is), she just gets up and tries again. I should be more like that.

I wonder what other great things she has planned. She will achieve so many wonderful things in her life and I get a front row seat! I can't wait. Mommyhood is wonderful, isn't it?