I apologize for my long absence. Hopefully some of you noticed! Things have been hectic the past three weeks, including my law school efforts, my graduate school work, and life here at home. Having a 9.5-month-old is so much work!!

The E-man has mastered the trick of pulling himself up and playing standing up. Sitting down is another matter, but he’s working on it. My wife and I have been amazed how things have changed so much in just three short weeks. It’s amazing how much stuff is within the reach of a standing baby, stuff we had thought would be safe. And although we consider ourselves to be pretty neat and tidy people, the E-man can detect a piece of dirt on the carpet, no matter how small, from across the room. And he can’t wait to taste it!

We’ll pick him up from a fall, or move him away from a piece of furniture he’s pulling up on, just to have him move to another area to get into trouble. I’m starting to think that the only true baby-proofed room is composed entirely of rubber and contains nothing but soft baby toys.

Last week for the first time, I went into the bedroom to check on him and found him standing up in his crib waiting for me for the first time. It seems that everyday he does something new - he studies everything and everyone so intently, a sponge just waiting to take it all in.

I have a bunch of new pictures to share, so I’ll be sharing some over the course of this week. Here’s a few for today: