Laurel figured out today that she isn't a monkey. She's got a knack for falling well, though -- wonder if it has anything to do with both Himself and I being climbers. She's got a great grip for climbing chairs for the time being, and hopefully this time next year she'll fit into the smallest climbing harness I've got (an REI children's integrated chest and waist harness). I should talk to Bob about that; he already thinks I'm nuts but he's got climbing experience longer than I've been alive and dispensing that expertise is what he does for a living... maybe I'll be able to talk to him next time Laurel has an overnight visit with Betty.

Lots of new words in Laurel's vocabulary lately: tissue (said while mimicking blowing her nose into one), down (as in "get down from the [item she's on], Lala") and dog (which also describes elk, deer, squirrels and other local fauna for the time being); phrases include "too bad," "stop it," and a rather mutilated version of "como estas." (You'd say it too if I said it to you every morning when you woke up.)

I'm working on a page of gift suggestions to answer the frequently asked questions of what size Laurel wears and what I find amusing and/or need. Sit tight and I'll even get the last three months of pictures up. It's much harder to pick the best thirty now that I have more than a hundred images a month thanks to having two digital cameras on hand.