Gemma's Process

In so many little and big ways I see the difference between Annika and Gemma.  The biggest indicator that these two girls will be two very different women with different process on tackling problems and projects is the way they are learning to sit up, crawl and walk.  

I originally thought that Gemma was developing faster.  She started her attempts to crawl and stand a good month or two before Annika did.  But then I noticed the major difference between them. While Annika won't tackle anything until she's pretty sure she can succeed at it,  Gemma likes to take things on a little at a time.  

Two months ago Gemma started trying to stand on her own but only on our bed.  She clearly knew she was falling often so she would only do it where the landing was soft.  She started out by holding onto to me, pulled herself up and then let go. She repeated the process over and over.  The next step was to pull herself up the wall and let go. Then she worked her way up by going up on her own but resisting against me with her knees or shins.  She repeated the process on any floor that was soft.  

About two weeks ago I started seeing her hold onto to furniture, let go and then slowly and very controlled squat back to sitting.  And again she would only do it on a carpeted or soft floor. Last weekend she made progress by coming up on her knees. She was working the balance from all fours to only two points! 

Yesterday, while at Annika's violin class all of a sudden I saw her standing on her own for about a minute.  She had gotten to standing on her own from a squat position.  Today she stood up on her own again on the tile floor which is not soft. She is baby stepping her way to standing. 

She has yet to take steps. I can tell she's making sure she can stand comfortably before she takes a step forward. In fact, I'm now seeing her do the one-foot crawl.  

The same meticulous process was applied for crawling. First it was swaying back and forth on all fours. Then she did this routine that looked like a Pilates class. One hand up, then down. Other hand up, then down. One foot up, then down. Second foot up, then down. And soon enough she crawled and now it's crawling with speed.   

I love how Gemma goes about learning new things. I love how she has this determination to practice and get comfortable at each stage before moving on. I can relate to how she is doing it very well.  I recently learned to ski and I wanted to do the bunny slopes over and over until I felt comfortable before moving onto the next slopes.  I needed to feel control before tackling a new feeling.  I'll be able to relate to Gemma's learning process very well which is good. And it also lets me know I must have patience and understanding with Annika as she learns new things because we tackle things in a different manner.  

Today, for the first time I was able to photograph Gemma standing. It is a blurry picture but I got it.  Her face tells you how excited and proud she is with herself.  I love it!