2004-07-29, 10:48 a.m.

Sit, Boy! Stay!

[All phrases and words in capital letters should be read in a tone of parental awe and terror.]

There are so many other things I should be doing right now (the primary one being work), but I just have to take this moment to say that Leon is a ROLLING MACHINE.

It started yesterday, at work. For the first time, he rolled from his back over onto his tummy. And not just once, but twice. This is huge, because it involves all sorts of new stomach and back muscles, with the added challenge of having to get that pesky second arm out from under his chest. And in case you're thinking, so what, he's been rolling from his front to his back for months, let me tell you, this is much tricker - that direction is basically just coordinated pushing off with his arms, and falling over. But the back to front roll is a concius effort to SEE THE WORLD FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE.

And now, it seems, a way to TRAVEL. Yeek. Do you realize what this means?

Christopher, of course, missed the initial rolls of yesterday, because they happened while we were here at work. So this morning we put Leon down on his blanket on the kitchen floor, and ate breakfast while watching him. I was triying not to put too much pressure on Leon to perform, but still couldn't help sneaking sideways glances at him everytime he started to move. And of course every time I did that, Christopher would turn to look, too, and it's a wonder either of us got any cheerios in our mouths at all. Finally, after about 15 minutes of just hanging out and teasing us, over he went. Christopher was so proud, you'd think Leon had won the baby olympics.

And then, of course, we had to put Leon back on his back, to see if he'd do it again. This time he was sneaky and rolled over while we weren't looking. But he didn't just go 180 degrees, oh no, he did a full 360 clear off the blanket and under the kitchen table, followed by another 180 to land happily face down in the dog hair covered carpet.

We are now officially in BIG TROUBLE.