Couch Mechanic

To the untrained eye, this might be one of those photographs that begs the question, What's going on in that little brain? This strange nonverbal imagination, this mysterious impenetrable intelligence: what new bafflement is it going to cook up next? The world is wide open, the toys are spread out on the rug, the autumn light is streaming in the window. The paths are clear in every direction.

But the trained eye knows exactly what those mental cogs are turning toward: the seven-inch clearance between the floor and the bottom of the sofa. The feet-first approach, the gentle head duck, the seemingly impossible flip from tummy to back once he's underneath: it's the parallel parking test of the infant realm, only in three dimensions. Enjoy. We do.