Warning: Long baby entry ahead.

I’m not sure what it was about the trip to Madison, but it seemed to have flipped a switch in Mathias causing him to find all new kinds of mobility.  He hasn’t started crawling–and, really, it’s increasingly starting to look like he’s going to skip that step–but all indications are the baby is about to make it difficult for us to keep track of him.

The changes started making themselves evident almost as soon as we got back from Madison.  Lisa gave me a call at work with the news the day after we returned.  Mathias had already been standing up using the coffee table and other items for balance for a month or so, but that day he realized he could move his feet while holding the table for balance. Lisa watched him slowly make his way down to the end of the table, where he eventually began crying until she picked him and put him around the corner. And so the cycle went: Walk, cry, get help from mom, repeat.

I have a patient wife.

I saw Mathias’ newfound skill first-hand last week Wednesday.  Mathias was again holding onto the coffee table, with Lisa sitting on the couch behind him.  I sat down on the floor at the end of the table and started talking to Lisa, and within a minute Mathias had made his way over to me.  He seemed quite pleased with this accomplishment. Or, at least, he did until he decided he wanted to turn the corner.

The other (and unfortunately somewhat more frustrating news) is that Mathias has learned how to sit up in bed.  In the big that’s a good thing, but the current problem is that he hasn’t figured how to lay back down yet.  The past few nights were extended well past his bed time as Lisa and I tried to get him down for the night.  All of the sudden we don’t have a baby as much as we have a little robot programmed to auto-sit.  Literally the moment after laying him down he flips onto his stomach, crunches his knees, and uses his arms to push himself into a sitting postion.  Over and over and over again.  Indeed, the only time he’ll relent and go down is when he’s completely and totally exhausted himself from sitting.  Earlier today Lisa watched as he basically passed out while sitting, resulting in a nasty meeting with the side of his crib.  You can guess how that went over.

On my list for this weekend: Babyproofing.