Breakthrough!!

I don't have any pictures to go with this post, because it was an important moment for me not to have the camera in her face...but QQ realized tonight (at just barely 15 months of age) that she could stand on her own.
For a child who spent the first 11 months of her life flat on her back in an orphanage crib, this is quite the accomplishment!
I, of course, have known she could do it for a few weeks now.
There have been several random moments when she forgot she "needed" help and let go, standing just fine without a helping hand. But each of those times she was concentrating on something else, and as soon as she realized she was unsupported, she would collapse.
Tonight, standing in the circle of my legs, she let go very deliberately while looking me in the eye, and stood without help for quite a good period of time. She did it two or three times in a row, and each time she was so excited and proud of herself that she gave me a huge hug afterward.
I can't even explain how amazing it is to watch her figure these things out.
Every day of late she becomes a little less of a "baby" and a little more of a "person".
She has a very strong personality, and is very much her own person. She does not look to others for cues, but forges her own path. She knows who she is, and is confident in her individuality. She has a sharp and broad sense of humor, and is very much her own person.
She makes us laugh and ghasp and clap with her accomplishments and intelligence.
I feel so proud of who she is...not just of the fact that she is "ours", but that she is, ultimately, her own person.
Really, I can't think of anyone I would rather have the good fortune to call my daughter.