Of Turtles and Click Beetles

This belongs to that substantial section of my mothering career that falls somewhere between brilliant and appalling.

Oob learned how to turn over when he was a few months old. After he learned, I always set him down on his tummy (unless I was doing a diaper change). Lo and behold, he forgot that he could turn over. I can imagine, if you have no kids this age, wondering why this would make me happy. After all, if he doesn't remember how, doesn't he just lie there and cry like a stuck turtle?

Well... sure if you leave him there for long enough. But if you let him get mad about it, he'll figure it out again. No, no, the beauty of it is this: when you changed his diaper he just lay there like the cutest, patientest stuck turtle you've ever seen.

Had I no fear that this would come back to bite me? As it turned out, I didn't. At least not enough. Now, at 10 months, he figured it out.

Have you ever seen a click beetle? They are long skinny beetles with a joint in the middle. When frightened, they play dead by rolling onto their backs. They then right themselves by springing into the air and flipping over with a loud click. Oob does this without the click. I'd say it's more of a chuckle as he races away without his diaper.