Isaiah started walking this past Monday. He's been moving quite well on his feet for a while, but always needed a hand or two to help him along. In fact, he has become quite assuming of the fact that somebody's hand/s will be available and ready to assist him in any translocation schemes of his. In the rare event that no one is around, he will climb up a leg or two, thereby completely immobilizing you, and grunt his request for assistance.
Anyway, we were at a friend's house, and her son (a month behind Isaiah) had just started walking the previous day. He was showing off how he could do it, and my friend and I decided to see if Isaiah might take the cue as well, and lo and behold, he decided to let go and walk a few steps on his own!

Yes, I know, it's so much more exciting as a parent (and I am assuming that the excitement will decrease exponentially with subsequent kids), but it is still pretty cool. Today he is up to several meters at a time, and managed to keep his balance while standing still for at least 10 seconds--all while chewing on a basketball (miniature foam one). Did I mention the level of talent in this kid?? :)

THe one thing I wonder about is that I have heard that babies start to thin out once they start walking. Despite the fact that the kid eats like a horse and deprives me of half my meals every day, he does not have a lot of fat to lose. With his 110th percentile head and 20th percentile weight, he's going to look like a lollipop soon--hopefully the topheaviness won't deter him from walking. When you think about it, it is pretty remarkable that eventually most people learn to walk, and somehow our bodies kind of subconsciously learn how to adjust balance, weight, muscle control, etc. to the point where we are able to stand on two relatively short pegs called feet, but which hold up the rest of our bodies while we run, jump, bike, do backflips (not all of us), etc. The human body amazes me sometimes, and it's extra special when its coolness is manifest in your own child.