Bear: Off-Roading in the Dirt

Hello Little Bear,

Before I forget, I kept wanting to write about this as you started doing this a few weeks ago...You save up your food in your mouth and then spit it out. I thought you were really enjoying your dinner, and you chewed, and opened for more,and more, and more...and then all of a sudden--plop, plop, plop, plop, out came your food.

This afternoon I took you to the park and we played. First on the jungle gym and then I followed you as you went exploring. You took off for the hills, my little mountain climber. We walked along the path, and ran, and then you wanted to go off-roading down dirt and rock trails that cut through sagebrush and were steep. And as I held your hand and your feet propelled you faster than ever, because it was steep, you began to laugh out loud. A couple of times your feet slid but I was still holding onto you. At the bottom, you wanted to climb back up. So you held my hand and climbed up. Over and over! Finally, I was tired, so I decided you could climb up on all fours and I would spot you from behind. So you did this a few times, and then decided to try to make it, all on your own, up this steep incline with slippery dirt and rocks, standing. You did it! I was shocked. How in the world...? You figured out how to balance and find your footing within a few tries. It was short, but it was steep. And then you began to run down without sliding. Laughing every single time. A couple of times, you purposefully slid down, on all fours, getting all dirty. You really rolled around in the dirt. You were covered.

So, since you managed to hike uphill without my help, on an uneven, rocky, and slippery path, I decided to stand back and see what else you would try. When we went downhill, it was too steep, so I held your hand. But you wanted to try it on your own. So I stood nearby and watch you. You were going to take a steep path and I didn't stop you, though I would have. You stopped yourself first, having assessed the incline. You decided to move over to one that was a little less steep. And, with one foot over the edge, a-rat-tat-tat-tat-tat, pitter-patted nimbly down the hill, to the bottom, and to the side. Not falling once. After you had both mastered going uphill all by yourself, and downhill, only THEN were you ready to move on.

That was really something to see. I wished I had a camcorder with me then.