I feel that I should tone down the opinions for awhile and just state the facts (ma'am), so here they are:

North is officially a walker. Last night, he walked in circles through our living room to the kitchen and back, over and over. He still crawls but he uses it as a last resort when he is really upset.

He is also becoming more determined to express his feelings and ideas. He has new toys to play with, heaven forbid I take him away from them when he is still playing. He is also becoming more sensitive to feeling his own hunger and tiredness. As his nap times are still fluctuating, I have to stay empathetic rather then reactionary. Though I have to admit I have forgotten a few times and became frustrated when I should have just taken him upstairs right away.

Our ginuea pig has died.

The hearth gate is up and we have a new wood rack. I am looking for a metal basket to store newspaper and kindling. It is nice to run the wood stove again.

In the next few months, Reed and I will tackle the task of turning the guest room into North's playroom. His "bedroom", now only clothing and toy storage; will be de-cluttered and transformed into something more serene. In the coming winter months, I want to create an indoor, active playroom and also slowly begin the transition into a seperate solitary sleeping space for North. In the last week our house had a few more sleepover guests then we had beds, so I also thought I would look for a futon couch on Craigslist to add to the playroom.

I am reading the Dog Whisper's new book and have decided that our dogs need more consistant exercise. We went for a very long, very well mannered neighboorhood walk today.

North and I will tackle the A.C. pool tomorrow night. Hopefully he still remembers that he likes water!

That's all.