Tristan’s still taking random steps by himself – mostly one or two before landing on his butt but occasionally he will have a good stretch. He got in at least ten steps this morning at the park before we actually stopped him because he was barreling toward the concrete very quickly. This whole intrepid Virgo baby learning to walk with his hands held at all times thing has had weird consequences – he actually walks very well, so when he takes off he still does not try to just stand first, he’s already across the room.

We all went up to the Valley Fair mall on Sunday to let Tristan practice his walking in a play area with air conditioning, and he was interested in walking around the mall in general while holding our hands. He brought us into Build a Bear and into some children’s clothing store. It’s sort of amusing seeing this determination in choosing a store, as he’s actually more interested in the racks holding things up than he is in the things being held up for sale in stores. Also, whenever he sees an imperfection in a flooring surface (which happens often in a mall!) he is compelled to stop and examine it. Given his age, this is all still very adorable to me. Plus, how often do you see a baby walking around? Most babies in stores are in strollers, so just like the carrier, the little baby walking is novel and cute to passers-by.