1/26/08 Stepping out

Katrina is really, really working on walking! Still crawling sometimes, still cruising a lot, still demanding assistance -- but more and more, she's braving the wild blue yonder of open air, taking halting steps, eyes wide open with concentration, fists clenched by her ears. She seems motivated partly by just not wanting to crawl anymore, though she does resort to it when she really wants to get somewhere.


Here she is negotiating a slight downslope.


I took Katrina to Diddam's today, and dared to set her down while I did some quick shopping for party favors. She's never been set free in a store before, so I was curious about her reaction. As if I had to wonder? She didn't waste a moment doing her stiff half-falling walk right out of sight, riveted by the endless new sights and countless shiny colorful things hanging on the walls and bins full of things to play with. No fear, no separation anxiety, no hesitation -- and no compunction about putting up a tremendous fuss when I retrieved her.

Tonight at dinner, a cute little conversation:

Julian: "Mommy, can you tell me about the prince?"
Mom: "What prince?"
Julian: "The prince! You know, the one at Collins."
Mom: "I don't know of any prince there."
Julian (impatient): "Yes, Mommy, the prince!"
Gabriel (contemptuous): "Dude! that's the princ-i-pal!"

Poor Julian didn't quite understand why I was laughing so hard.

1/26/08