freestanding

Dylan,

You're starting to demonstrate that you can stand on your own with nothing to support you but your own two feet. You will occasionally do this of your own volition in a distracted sorta way when you're focusing hard on some thing, such as a slice of nectarine making its way toward your mouth. More often, you do it as part of the 1-2-3 Game, where Mom will stand you up and start counting out loud after she's let go of you.

Sometimes you fall and she catches you, and you enjoy doing that over and over, falling as if on purpose -- making no real effort to stand. More often though, what brings you down isn't an inability to balance but the realization that you are unsupported. When you recognize this state of things you usually lower yourself down onto your seat. I think it's fair to say that you can stand just as long as you want to -- you just don't wanna.

On the beach Saturday you stood by yourself till the count of 17. Obviously you had something else on your mind.

Maybe we'll have to re-think the name of that game.

Dad