Stair Climber - Part 2

Now that Troy has mastered going up the stairs, he’s decided that he needs a new challenge. When I opened the baby gate at the top of the stairs today, instead of reaching out for me to pick him up like he usually does, he slid one tentative, little foot over the edge of the first step. Holding on to the baby gate for support, he let his weight take him the rest of the way down until his foot landed safely and securely on the second step. Suddenly feeling more confident, he awkwardly scooted his back leg out from under himself and dropped it over the side of the top step to land next to his other foot. He looked up at me with a huge smile on his face as if to say, “Look what I just did, dada?!” Understanding what a huge accomplishment this was for him with clapping and cheering, I held out me arm in front of him to offer support. First with one hand and then with the other, he let go of the baby gate and wrapped his little hands tightly around my forearm. There was no hesitation, no fear. He trusted me, and he trusted himself. And as soon as he had a good grip, he moved his foot over the side of the next step.

His steps got quicker and smoother as he gained confidence and experience, and he was almost running down the stairs, so eager to do this new thing. We made it to the bottom of the first landing; and he stopped, turned around, climbed back up to the top of the stairs, and started heading back down again. Up and down we went together, until his legs got tired from the exertion, my wife standing at the bottom, cheering him on the entire time. He finally decided to go all the way to the bottom, making the truth on the wider steps with a little less grace, but making it nonetheless. He truly is a stair master now!