As I've mentioned before, we keep our children in their rooms via child safety knobs. In the mornings, I come in and get them dressed (with the door still closed, to keep escapees from running up or down stairs or from playing in the bathroom or the laundry room).
As soon as that door opens, Xander takes off running down the hallway and starts inch-worming his way down the first three stairs to the landing. He looks down the front set of steps to see if brother is awake and what toys are waiting for them. Then he puts one hand on the rail of the back set of steps and starts the rest of the way down, putting one foot on the first step and the other on the second. There's no moment's pause, no need to wait for Mommy or for help. He has absolutely no fear of the stairs or of doing something on his own. He's just impatient when he gets down there, and he doesn't have his milk first thing!
Sawyer, on the other hand, is a different story. He doesn't go running. In fact, he's usually still hovering near the bed and waiting on Mommy to finish putting away wipes and dirty clothes and straightening up the room. He sometimes even closes the door to shut us back in. When my hands are finally free of stuff, he comes running up and wants to be carried down the hall and down the stairs. He will walk, holding your hand, but only if you prompt him to. And even then, he goes very slowly. Sometimes he inch-worms all the way down, other times he takes one tentative step at a time while holding onto the rail and your hand for dear life. And of course, his first instinct is to reach those arms up to safety. And it's usually what he gets, if you must know. It takes longer to make him walk, and there are usually already two little boys downstairs getting into mischief.
It's just one of the many ways we're starting to see our little boys head in different directions. I can't wait to see where the rest of the road will lead . . .
(Oh, and in case you were curious, Connor was more of a charge down the stairs at top speed without bothering to even hold onto the rails much less wait for help - some of you may remember this memorable photo (May 12, 2006) that made its rounds back in the days of PowerPoint updates - that nasty bruise, cut and large knot are from missing a step and hitting the sharp corner of the wood rail).
