walking... soon. we hope.

So after months (yes months, not weeks. months.) of hearing people say things like "look at him!  He is going to walk any day now" "oh my gosh, he is so close!  I bet he walks by the end of the week..." "he is going to just take off one of these days..." and many other similar phrases, Landon is still not walking.  He is now 16 (and a 1/2) months old and while he is one of the fastest crawlers I have ever seen, can stand completely on his own, can dance while standing, can handle the stairs without assistance, climbs up and over ottomans, balances on tip toes on top of the ottoman, and can "cruise" on and around anything you put in his way, he is still refusing to put one foot in front of the other and do this simple thing called "walking."
While not walking by 15 months is considered an "early red flag" most doctors don't start worrying about "delayed developments" until the 18 month mark.  So that means we have a little under 7 weeks for Landon to get going vertically before the dreaded doctor worry and mommy guilt-trip will begin to set in. 
And while Landon is "close"  (standing on his own and taking a step or two) we seem to have been stuck at this point for going on 3 months now. Any other major milestone that Landon has struggled with seems to be mastered as soon as I start voicing my worry.... so after watching our neighbors little girl (who was born on the exact same day as Landon) run around her front yard today, I am running out of my positive mommy patience.
I thought maybe if I finally write a blog on this topic, the message will somehow make it to the appropriate parties and Landon will be walking by the end of the week (6 weeks before that 18 month deadline).  So... let's see what happens. (Positive vibes welcome.)