dual personalities

This week, Katie has had a pretty wild physical leap. She is really going for it all the time. When she crawls, she seems to have this accelerator button that can send her off a triple speed across the floor. When she cruises, she’ll let go and pivot to a new piece of furniture fearlessly. And she has even done a bit of push-walking, opening the gate to her pen.

Plus, she’s just bigger. It occurred to me that in addition to growing a bit, she might just be standing up tall. We used to comment on her great posture as a sitter, and now I notice how straight she keeps her back when standing. Much better than her mommy, really!

This observation called to mind the classic from our days at summer camp, William H. Danforth’s I Dare You!, which has inspiring and quotable lines such as

I am on a voyage of discovery. I search for those of you who will go on a great adventure. I am looking for you, one of the audacious few, who will face life courageously, ready to strike at the heart of anything that is keeping you from your best; you intrepid ones behind whom the world moves forward.

…but which also talks about liver twists and other minor references that can really bond 23-year-old camp counselors.

Anyway, my point is that Katie is, so far, one of the audacious few, who is really facing life as a one-year-old courageously.

She also has a top tooth coming in, which is dampening her smile-tall spirits a bit. (Not that you can tell from these pictures.) Poor baby! Good thing Motrin exists, and frozen washcloths, and mommy or daddy shoulders on which to lean. But you can’t keep Katie down for too long, really.

*from Danforth’s scheme of four-fold living