Things Are Finally Falling Into Place

Earlier this morning Austin put a plastic shape into the appropriate hole in the Tupperware toy. The day before, at the cafe, he put the lid back onto our friend's juice bottle.

All of a sudden it's not just about destruction. And his parents are over the moon.

In fact, it's been a pretty big week. A burst of developmental action. A showcase of new abilities and talents.

He can now be left to eat alone without the threat of his bowl ending up on the floor. He can climb up onto the couch by himself.

And he discovered his penis.

You have to keep them in perspective (for the record, the plastic shape is more significant than the penis - at least for now), but each of these milestones gives you a bit of a thrill.

What’s more is that you generally don’t see them coming. The bottle lid was certainly out of character and up until that point Kate's bath with Austin was just like any other.

Of course, it would be nice if you could script just a few. Potty training, when the time comes, would certainly fall into this category.

Right now, I’d settle for a few new words.

‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’ are wearing a bit thin, particularly as they are now almost invariably used with a tone that suggests the parent in question is not in his good books.

‘Yeah’ would be fun, as would ‘right on’, but the smart money is on ‘ta’. That’s one we’re very much looking forward to.

More so if he also stops snatching.