So, I was going to post today how right after my post on Recent New Alex Tricks I realized I’d forgotten two… he’s started initiating peekaboo games using napkins or blankets or whatever is around and, very important, he has learned to stick his finger up his nose.

But, those were somewhat overshadowed about an hour ago.

I hadn’t mentioned it here yet, but my mother was visiting over the holiday weekend, and she helped him get confident pulling himself up on a toy rolling lion thing and then using the lion as support to “walk” as he pushed it along. He would also do the same with his high chair. Today he decided to see if he could do without the lion.

So it is just after dinner. Brandy is holding Alex on the table (yes, yes, we know) and he is bouncing happily. He tries to crawl across the table to Brandy’s laptop, but she won’t let him. So he bounces some more. At one point, he looks toward the laptop, scrunches up his face and makes a determined sounding yell and his whole body tenses up. A few seconds later he lunges forward out of Brandy’s arms toward the laptop… and finds himself standing. Just for a second. Then he sort of hops forward and takes a couple of barely controlled steps before Brandy catches him and pulls him back in.

He is now hopping up and down screeching with joy. Over the next ten minutes or so he does it over and over again. Bounce bounce bounce bounce in mommy’s arms… jump forward… stand for a few seconds… one or two steps then fall backwards into Mommy’s arms or sit down… Yelling and jumping and smiling excitedly the whole time. And of course all on the dining room table.

Eventually he was done and retreated to his mom. Afterwards he was happy to crawl around a bit before his bath rather than try for more steps. This is still an experiment, not an actual mode of locomotion. He continued to be very excited through his bath. Then it was time for a little snack, and then to crash. It was a very exciting evening.

For all of us.