Mattias is getting there!

Mattias is getting ever more mobile and stronger since turning 10 months old. He wants to be involved in whatever Timo is doing, or wants to get into all the non-toys (garbage can, electrical cords, kitchen cupboards) and often goes to the door and starts "talking" and banging on the door to be let outside to play. His favorite spot in the front yard is right at the corner of the flower bed, where he sits in the mulch and plays with the rocks around the border. In that backyard, he goes all over (and it's a big yard!), finding sticks and pushing his cart. He is good at going up stairs, but hasn't figured out going down, and thus has bonked his head a few times. At the park, he loves to climb stairs and go into tunnels, or sit at the top of the slide, getting increasingly excited. I need to get a photo of that. We are glad that the weather is still warm and sunny this month so we can be outside every day.

On this occasion, he pushed his cart all the way to the back of the yard and over onto the grass. He was SO excited to stand at the fence by himself and investigate the weeds and fencing.

And a quick photo of Timo, engaged in one of his favorite kitchen activities - emptying out the drawer with cooking utensils and tools. "Oh, Mommy! What's this one do?" he asks. By now he knows the answer to most of those questions, so then I turn the question around to him and he answers. Then we talk about cutting biscuits and grating carrots and cutting bread and squeezing lemons and opening cans - paying particular attention and care to which items are sharp. And then he dumps it all back in. (I've given up on organizing this drawer! As long as it closes, I'm happy.)