Rollin, Rollin, Rollin...

Most babies roll over around four months old. Most babies. At two and a half years old, Christian still hasn't really rolled over all on his own, aside from a couple of isolated incidents during therapy sessions. I feel this has been one of the biggest and most frustrating hurdles that he has faced. It seems he has been on the verge of a break through for about a year. Today he made a big step towards independent movement.

Nick was playing with Christian on a bed on the front porch. He was trying to get him to roll accross the mattress to knock over a bottle of sunscreen. With a little assistance, he did it a couple times. Then, while I was in the house, I heard Nick cheering and calling my name. I ran out to see Christian and Nick smiling triumphantly. Christian had just rolled across the mattress, without any assistance from his dad. While I was watching, he did it again, and again. Every once in a while he would ask for help, and when Nick placed his finger on his side, or held his hand, Christian would roll over. Nick didn't actually aide in any way, other than giving Christian a confidence boost. It was amazing.

The problem has always been that Christian gets stuck on his shoulder, and can't figure out how to push up onto his forearms to get over that one hurdle. Today it seemed he finally got it, and he looked so strong!

In the past I may have posted "He's finally done it!" but I know better now. This doesn't mean that Christian will be rolling all over the floor tomorrow. What it means is that big things are coming. If we keep working hard, and he keeps feeling confident that he can move himself, then his progress will start to accelerate. And maybe soon, he wont be so frustrated when a toy is out of reach. No matter what, watching him rolling today was so beautiful, and I will never forget it.