Boring Post--Ka Boom

 My seven month old grand daughter is a character.  She is much advanced compared to her brother in physical skills at the same age.  She has been crawling and pulling up on things for a while.  The problem is--what goes up, must come down.  She hasn't quite mastered that yet.  

When she has been standing for a while and wants down I have observed her try several strategies.  She does the fuss--Come rescue me somebody.  She is pretty good at the fuss, but she fusses so often, that she gets ignored sometimes.  When she is older I will have to read the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf to her. I think she is too young to comprehend that at the moment.

I have seen her try the splits to get down.  She lowers herself by spreading her legs farther and farther apart.  The problem is balance  and fine motor control. Usually when she gets for down in the splits attempt, she will revert to the fuss, a loud strident fuss that usually brings help.

But, for her the most reliable and fastest method is both the simplest and the hardest.  I have watched her release her hold on the surface she was standing beside and hope for the best.  She goes over backwards with a Ka Boom.  This achieves the result she hoped for, it got her down.  But, even though the floor has a really good carpet and pad, I suspect that there is some pain and certainly surprise as the air gets knocked out of her when she hits the floor. Sometimes she cries, sometimes she just looks surprised. (As a good grandma I should never admit that it is slightly funny to see, so I won't admit that.)

I noticed that lately she is starting to pick up another skill.  She is learning to bend her knee, reach down to the floor and settle herself into a crawling position.  Just the other day I saw her practice this a few times.  I think the days of the ka boom might be over.