four green & speckled frogs sat on a speckled log eating the most delicious bugs

things are changing pretty fast around here. yesterday it was finger foods and today it was all about movement, mostly in the direction of things he shouldn't be moving towards. there has been a lot of up on hands and knees, or hands and toes and there were even some moments of one arm in front of the other but the legs would always give. he was frustrated to be sure and would whine as he tried and tried again. we knew it was close and so we bought the tethers to secure the bookshelf and the thing that stops the door knob from turning so that we wouldn't find him eating litter one day. of course we haven't installed any of it, we still had time. but then today as i was putting in laundry i looked back into the living room and there he was six feet from where i had left him not seconds before, his face inches away from his stroller wheel, his tongue out and reaching with delightful anticipation. how did he get there so fast, i thought.

so i watched him closer and throughout the day he continued the trend. he made it to the couch and half way into the kitchen, under the table and into the foyer. sometimes painstakingly slow and other times with lightning speed. it appeared that offering up the chance to touch something he knew he shouldn't be touching elicited the fastest response. his arms made grand swooping motions as he placed them further in front, propelling his legs to do the same. it looked a little like swimming only without water or finesse.

so this afternoon i took more seriously to the task of finding a gate to block off the kitchen. it is the one intrusive thing we have decided to do. i don't want to have to worry about cat food choking or spare bits of food lying in wait on the floor. all of the chemicals can be housed there and for now i won't have to worry about fridges and stoves and garbage cans. the shelves will get tethered, and small objects moved to higher homes. we will get ready for this, the next stage in growing up and then we will sit back and cheer him on as he moves and learns and grows, every day getting one step closer to the person he will one day be.