Of all the pictures I take of my kids, I missed one of the great milestone tonight.

Lily took her first steps.

She's been standing unsupported for a while now, but as soon as anyone looks at her she falls and laughs, like she's too bashful for anyone to notice that she's actually proving her evolutionary status and turning into a bi-ped. So tonight while Jake and I were having a discussion about the meaning of our lives or our direction as a family, or something else FAR less monumental than this incredible moment, she took a step right in front of us. And suddenly the world stood encircled around this girl in awe of her accomplishment. We spent the next several minutes encouraging her to go back and forth, and she was so giddy that the top half of her body would lurch forward long before her feet could catch up and she would be left in a giggling heap on the floor. A couple of times, though, she took 3 or 4 steps before she realized she was doing it, and then she was just so proud of herself she was beaming.

One of the reasons that this is such a huge moment is that she was born with very crooked feet (like me) and I've been taking her to specialists to make sure that she doesn't need casts or special shoes or something (like I did) and the doctors keep telling me that I can ignore it and she'll be fine. And I'm sure she will be; but as a mom, endowed with all of the worry and guilt to which mothers are bestowed, I've just been a little uncertain.
Until tonight.
Now I can see that she will be able to walk, and that she is doing so right on schedule. This takes all of the worry out for me.
And besides, whether your kid walks at 8 months or 18 months, it is a moment that moms remember for a lifetime.
What a great day.