Last night was bath night for Judah. Things he likes about taking a bath:
- splashing the water all over his mommy & papa
- turning on the faucet
- floating toys
- the sound porcelain makes when you hit it with floating toys
- eating floating toys

Things Judah doesn't like about taking a bath:
- having water poured over his face (it's scary!)
- having his nose cleaned
- getting out of the tub

A few days ago, I was taking my own bath and he crawled in to the bathroom to visit me. He took one look at the water and immediately reached for his floating toys and dropped them in one by one. He's very thoughtful like that.

So, back to last night. I think post-bath rituals are probably the same for any parent of a one year old. You take the child out, put them on a flat towel-covered surface and wrap them up tight to keep them warm. Then, you apply all sorts of lotions, oils, creams, etc and then around the time you are ready to diaper, your baby has lost interest in the whole process and is crawling away to go open the vanity cabinets with Desitin on his rear end and the diaper on the floor.

This is where parents become expert at diversions. You must give the child something they can play with while you go through the motions. Last night I gave Judah a bottle of Johnson's Bedtime Lotion with Chamomile & Lavender. He likes to chew on the cap or lick the outside of the bottle, mostly. Last night, though, he sniffed the bottle. I mean a long, deep sniff. Then, he sniffed out instead of in which facilitated boogie extraction. He repeated this action with his nighttime milk by sniffing the cup.

He's learning what to do with his nose!!! For non-parents, this is not a big deal, but for those of us who have been sticking rubber plungers up our kids' sinus cavities for a year, this is PROGRESS.

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.