Walking!

Right after we got back from Tahoe in August, Cooper took his first few tentative steps. Then a few weeks later, exactly on his 11 month birthday, he really started taking steps on his own and walked across a whole room to Mommy and Gigi!!

Walking is still a little wobbly for Cooper, so he definitely likes it when there are things there to help him:

Or someone to give him encouragement that he can do it:

My favorite part of Cooper's new walking skills is that when he races towards someone, when he gets there he throws himself into their arms and they get a big hug and cuddle. He still really prefers to be holding someone's hand and know they're within reach, and it's nice to still be depended on a little bit by our baby :)

Now that it's fall, Cooper is loving walking through all the big leaf piles around the neighborhood and hearing the noises the leaves make:

But the very VERY best thing about Cooper starting to walk is that it makes him so happy!! He loves being independent and able to get where he wants to go and do what he wants to do. And mommy and daddy love their happy boy!!