a rapid learning curve

oh boy. what a rapid learning curve this kid has! it seems like it's only been a few days since he began crawling fast enough to get around, yet, today he's already pulling himself up to a standing position. his legs are still oh so very wobbly, but he loves to stand. and as long as there is something to hold on to nearby, he'll be standing. before i know it, he'll have the kitchen drawers and shelves figured out. argghhhh! he's now got the 'getting out of bed safely' down packed, but this morning he took the first five steps towards what we like to call 'cruising the furniture'. yeah! he got off the couch, all by himself just fine, and then moved sideways along the couch, towards his rabbit toy, (just like this frog, but imagine it being a rabbit) a good five or six steps. it's the rabbit. i blame the rabbit! years ago.... well, it was probably two years ago, i was visiting a friend in montreal and we found a shop in china town that sells the old metal 'wind up toys'. the sorts of wind up toys, like i used to have when i was a kid. i used to have a chicken that pecked and jumped. i bought a rabbit, that jumps and moves forward, when wound up. kaspar loves the rabbit. it's the toy that taught him to speed crawl. he liked it so much, that all i had to do, was wind up the rabbit and place it on the ground in the opposite corner of the room and kaspar was there in less then a minute. it was a good game to play just before bed time :-)

i lost my train of thought. a furnace repair man just called. he's coming over to take a look at the furnace. it was just replaced a month before we moved in, but our landlord is on top of it and wants to get a maintenance check in before the summer. wow. totally on top of it. i'm impressed.

it does seem like we're getting summer very soon. today i was out in a sweater. we went for a walk for about an hour and forty minutes. it was warm. i think the thermometer was at +14 in the shade. it must have been a few degrees warmer in the sun, because i definitely did not need a jacket! the crocuses are out in full bloom. and there are two hyacinths poking their heads out, about to bloom in the front of the house. what a nice surprise! we'll have tulips, too, but later. and kaspar is thrilled about the change in weather, too. for the third day, he's been sitting in the stroller and pulling his hat off constantly. in fact, we lost one of our favourite hats just yesterday, or the day before! he pulls it off, and just as i turn my head it gets tossed off to the side, somewhere... be it bushes or the traffic.... he does not care. just the act of pulling it off and tossing it seems to be good enough for him :-)

speaking of mischief. today goes down in history as kaspar's first temper tantrum! my mom laughed at me, when i told her about it. she insists, that i was absolutely unreasonable with my temper tantrums as a young child! apparently, as the story goes... one day, as i'm down on the floor, feet kicking, screaming on top of my lungs, my grandmother (may she rest in peace!) goes out into the yard, grabs a stinging nettle and spanks me on the back of my bare legs. that cured it! i never fell to the ground screaming ever again. i'm hoping we won't let kaspar get to that point. yikes. today, he simply wanted to go out. and made the mistake of opening the door (leaving he screen closed) and telling him - yes, we'll go outside! we'll go for a walk! we just have to get dressed first. the 'dressed part' did it. he did not want to go and get dressed. he did not care that mommy still had a bed head. he did not care that he had no pants on. he wanted to go outside. and that was that! so, i had my child kicking and screaming and pounding the floor until he hit his head on the floor, too, and then there were more tears and louder screaming and more pounding. and i was the bad guy. i tried picking him up, but had no luck. he was screaming and kicking his belly up and ooooohhh.h.h.h. it was hard! harder on me, i think. but i'm sure he would beg to differ.

here is a good picture for his current height. yes, the top of his head is higher then the kitchen table! and here is his mr. rabbit... always reaching for it!