Boys boys boys

About a week ago, Caleb learned to climb stairs. And no, not learned like: "I'll try to go up a few, then maybe teeter a little, try to sit down and then tumble back down." Learned like: These stairs are fun to hit my hands on. They make a great noise. Mommy is sitting reading her book and not paying attention. I think I'll climb these stairs. Hee hee. I can hear Mommy getting up and wondering where I am. She can't see me at the bottom of the stairs. Nope, not on the way up. Nope, not on the landing. Nope, not around the corner either. Yay! You found me Mommy, all the way up in your bedroom!"

But Caleb is like that. Once he watches you do something, I can see the wheels in his head turning saying: oh, that's how it's done. And then he does it. He already figured out all our safety locks on the cupboards. He's not an explorer; if he doesn't know how something works or that it opens/moves, he doesn't bother. But once he sees you do it, game over. Good example: I used to take him in the bathroom with me so that I could shower, and he'd just sort of sit on the ground and look around. Then one day he caught a glance at someone sitting on the toilet. As soon as they opened the seat, he was like "cool!" Now he likes to shower in the toilet while I get my shower. Caleb also uses toys really well. His favourite things are cars. He actually turns the car the right way and then crawls around making it "drive". People think it's hilarious, as most babies his age would just turn it over and spin the wheels. But he's seen us and Colin use the toy that way, and so he does, too. This quality is also the reason he's been eating what we eat since he was six months. He was no fool - no one else was eating that pureed stuff from a jar. And don't you try to cut up that apple - he wants the thing whole, just like you!

Both boys are determined. Colin, however, will go at something the same way, over and over and over again, until he gets the result that he wants. This morning he stood halfway across the room trying to throw his pajamas into his laundry basket. It took 16 tries, but he did it, without moving even an inch closer. Caleb, on the other hand, will try something twice. If it doesn't work by the second time, he reassesses the situation and tries something different. He may have to try 7 or 8 different possibilities, but he also sticks with the task until completed. It tries my patience to no end, but it's a characteristic I know will serve both of them very well.

Caleb is also nearly walking. His favourite activity now is to use anything he can as a walker and motor around as fast as he can. He can even maneuver corners, and back himself up if he gets stuck. Because he learns by watching, he's learning quite quickly with Colin around to show him the ropes. Oh, boy, are my boys going to get into all sorts of trouble one day!