Harper walked on water today. No. But she clapped for the first time, which is about the same thing. She was a late clapper. Today is her ten month birthday, so she made it on the baby center poll, also known as the realm of normal.
She has friends younger than her that have been clapping for months. Friends who don't crawl, who can clap. In fact, almost everyone she knows can clap, except the pets. She could point, do the one baby sign we taught her ('all done', which is really not as handy as 'nap' or 'personal space' would have been). She even has been taking a baby step like once every week and a half or so. Earler today, I left the fridge door open for a bit. When I turned back, she had climbed about a foot up, was stuck and crying. What is that about? She can climb better than she can baby step.
I had almost given up on her clapping. I thought maybe she would just never clap, and tried to justify that: Really, do you need to clap? Sure, it comes in handy at live performances, sporting events, graduation, and so on, but you could just as well as whistle. It could be a bit awkward sometimes, like when people clap to the beat and she whistles along, but it is really no biggie.
These are questions she will not have to face, because she clapped today. Give the girl a hand.
