A walk to the park

Ellie and I enjoyed some of the perfect fall weather on Thursday afternoon and took a walk down to the park in our neighborhood. I was surprised when Ellie stopped wanting to hold my finger, her usual stability source, and struck off down the sidewalk completely on her own. I knew she could do it, but usually she wants to have the added security of holding mom's or dad's hand. This is probably just another sign of us losing our baby :( She's growing up so fast.
We had a great time when we did finally arrive at the park about 20 minutes later. The one-block commute goes pretty slow when Ellie is setting the pace! But it was so exciting to watch her walk down the path, stop and pick up leaves and check out all the neighborhood scenery.