Eureka!

Sometimes I'm really amazed at the amount of stuff Caroline can learn when she's got some downtime. In the past week or so, she's...

• mastered climbing on & off furniture (couch & coffee table)
• had moderate success with spoon & fork
• climbed up & down stairs without my help by holding onto banister spires. This is pretty exciting, considering she hasn't had much practice on stairs. The only stairs we have are marble - not suitable for occasional practice tumbles.

We think she may also have her first word - 'up.' This doesn't appear at all reliably or without being prompted, though.

But Caroline's personal favorite discovery is how to let herself in and out of the playground. This was a little unsettling to me. Perhaps planners should be aiming a little higher intellectually with their gate locking mechanisms.

Now she's working on doorknobs.