I'll walk when I'm ready Mummy... and not before!

Little Owl is a true bum shuffler!  She places both feet together and makes a kind of scooping action, lifting her bum and bouncing forward!  Its a bit like yogic flying and sometimes she bounces so high, she looks like she could stand!  The girl must have abs of steel!

The bum shuffling has worked well for her - it means she can see where she is going and can carry things too!  While all her crawling friends had to stop moving and sit up to see all the sparkly things under the parachute, Little Owl could bounce along taking it all in and exploring everything there was to see.

Distance isn't a problem either - on a camping trip at the beginning of June, Little Owl was happy to bounce across a field in order to follow the other children.  On that same trip we bought her a pair of wellies (a size too big) to protect her feet if she did try any walking.  At 13 months she was happy to have a go if you held her hand. 

The wellies and the bumpy ground must have given her some confidence as the evening we returned from camp, Little Owl took her first tentative solo steps!

That was over 10 weeks ago!  Progress since then... well...

The week Little Owl turned 15 months, she learnt to crawl!  We thought that stage had been completely bypassed but no, after refusing tummy time since she learnt to roll, Little Owl has spent the last few weeks practising the art of crawling.  Its fascinating to watch her perfect the method, and when she chooses to crawl or when she chooses to bum shuffle. Crawling is definitely used for getting under things.  Crawling also appears to be the movement of choice to get around corners and to see what is happening but as soon as she has line of sight - its back on the bum! 

While I'm impatient for her to get up and walk, I know I will miss the bum shuffle which has become so much a part of her character.  So for now, I shall sit back and enjoy this phase, no longer a baby but not yet a toddler - she is a boddler!