We Have a Walker

I'm ready to call it, we have a walker.  Soren has been taking steps for a month now, but it's always been with a lot of encouragement, usually in the form of Chris or I plopping Soren down on his feet, scurrying a few feet a way and then calling to him with outstretched arms to "Come to Mommy!" or "Come to Daddy!"  He was taking more and more steps each day, and then he got an ear infection and experienced a side effect similar to having motion sickness.  Not surprisingly, he did nothing but crawl for nearly two weeks.   

Soren eventually got his land legs back and within the last few days, it's like the lightbulb went off in his head that he does know how to walk.  I'll be not paying attention to what he's doing and then I'll notice him out of the corner of my eye letting go of whatever he's holding onto and making a slow, steady walk towards something - a door, chair, wall - a few feet away.  It's as if he's saying to himself, "Okay, this time I'm going to try to make it all the way to dining room table."  It's neat to watch how determined he is.