Left foot Left foot Right foot right. Feet in the morning. Feet at night. -- Dr. Seuss, The Foot Book.

The day before Mother's Day, I was standing in the ranch bunkhouse looking for my shoes. I put Judah down for a second to free my hands and thinking he would plop down to play with {insert any object in grabbing distance} was absolutely floored by his decision to STAND while not holding on to anything. Seconds passed...10...20...30...40. He was a little wobbly, but seemed very self-assured. He did it!

My intrepid little explorer is also becoming quite adept at climbing and retreating down stairs. His chubby feet tentatively reach back for solid stair as he looks over one shoulder making sure he has a firm grip before backing down. Up is much easier for him. Sometimes he can't make up his mind and will go up and down the same three stairs until he thinks he is forever trapped in this cycle and squeals for rescue.

His most favorite activity at the moment is playing with dirt. We have porch plants and as soon as he is liberated, he heads for the gardenia. Dirt is squishy! He grabs a clump and then examines his hand. The dark speckles on his white skin fascinate him. It's fun to scoop handfuls of dirt and sprinkle it everywhere.