If you're happy and you know it. . .

Our little laugh track is developing well. He crawls around like a pro, he has been waving hello and goodbye with moderate consistency, he has been standing unassisted since before he could crawl, his personality has been flourishing for months. . . but he hasn't started clapping. It's a silly party trick ("Clap like a monkey!").

And then last night halfway through his bath he started clapping as if to say "daddy, that was the best hair rinsing in the history of the world." So he clapped, which made us clap and laugh. So then he'd clap and laugh, which made us clap and laugh, which made him clap and laugh, which made us say, "OK, that's enough clapping," which made him laugh and clap more.

What is it in kids that just clicks and makes the suddenly start doing something new? This wasn't just banging his hands together in an awkward way. This was full-on open-palmed clapping, with the actual clapping sound. Like he'd been doing it for months.

Is this what walking is going to be like? One day nothing, the next day running laps around the house?