Wanderer's Daughter

In the interest of keeping everyone updated...just a quick post to say she stood on her own yesterday for the first time without pulling herself up (ie - she just raised straight up from a crouch and stood in the middle of the kitchen floor). I've been watching her do that sort of downward-facing-dog type pushup on all fours for a while now, and I could see it coming. Still, it was a thrill all the way to my toes to see it happen! And we were both there for that performance, which lucky! Then tonight, I was lying on my back on the floor, and she pushed up from my stomach to a standing position, raised her hands all the way up in the air as high as she could reach (??), took four or five steps, and then pounced on me with her WWF tackle. The WWF tackle has been a favorite for quite some time, and I have to tell you, even on the bed from a kneeling position it was rather painful. From her full height, with me lying on a wood floor, it was definitely less than a pleasant feeling. And she proceeded to repeat the performance about twelve times in a row. I would have stopped her, but it gives me too much of a thrill to see her stand, stretch to her full height, and take those few steps on her own. If the hilarity of tackling mommy is the carrot on the end of her stick, then so be it.
For those who have been asking about sign language - yes, I've used it from the start with her, for the basic things. We don't have the videos but we do have the flashcards. She knows and understands the signs for "hungry", "juice", "shoes", "socks", "please", "thank you", etc. She will respond to them when I use them, but doesn't seem to want to make the signs to us in order to communicate. She prefers to make up her own signals, like the eye-squinch for thank-you, or verbalize like the nyang-nyang for hungry. She is very vocal. I think she really wants to say the words out loud, but she doesn't have control of her new mouth yet (plus her lip isn't finished and she can't purse her lips yet without it being fully connected).
So...that's the progress report for the day. How long will it be thrilling to see her stand and walk, before it just becomes more of a liability ;) ? I know that the dog is already ruing the day she first stood on her own two feet.