Crawl before you walk?

We are all familiar with the proverb that states, "you have to crawl before you can walk". Literally, this refers to babies, but generally, it is used when explaining that you have to learn the basics first, before mastering something harder.

Little Violet is about to make history and walk before crawling. OK, so maybe it's not history in the making, but definitely disproving the proverb. I think she is trying to tell us that you can be much more efficient without learning the basics - just skip to the tough part and hope not to fall too much.

As of two weeks ago, Violet refuses to sit in one place. She grunts and growls until you come near her and reach out with your hands. At this point, she grabs for dear life and pulls herself up to a standing position. Within seconds she is off to explore. Her first place of business is usually the bookshelf where she inhales the smell of sweet mahogany and examines many of her leather-bound books (kudos to those that caught the reference). Next stop is the mirror which she approaches with a big grin on her face. How can anyone not be pleased to see themselves? Usually she leans in slowly and a make-out session ensues. After she checks those two things off her list, she typically just wanders aimlessly around the apartment for what feels like hours. While it's not very pleasant on my back, I love seeing her face as she discovers a whole new world - 30 inches off the ground.