Newest Developments

Big day yesterday. I walked down the stairs backwards, not all of them but several. This was something I have been avoiding for a while. My mama has given me opportunities to go down with her, but I have ignored the stairs or just played standing at the gate. Yesterday I was ready. I immediately knew to turn around and go backwards. After I got down a step, though, I lost confidence because I didn't know what to do with my hands. I held on to the gate, but it swings. My mama showed and told me where to put my hands. I mimicked her to test that out. After a step or two I felt more comfortable squatting and stretching my legs down. It is just scarier when you are at the top of the stairs and you look at all the way down you would fall. I did some more stairs, tried holding on to the stair rails, got tired, and asked my mama to take me the rest of the way. Still, an accomplishment! (Mind you, I was found on the second step at the bottom of the stairs earlier -- Time to close the gate for sure!

The other thing I surprised my mama with was my signing. I love books. My daddy and mama always read books to me. I, as you know, love to open and close the books. I even have begun to "read" them sometimes, emitting sing-songy noises out of my mouth that I know my mama understands as the stories I tell her. Yesterday my mama was playing with me in my play room. She was watching me crawl over to a book and begin to open and close it. She signed to me that I was reading a book. I watched the sign closely, as I am wont to do these days. I saw how she held her hands and opened and closed them like the book. It kind of looked like all finished. Well, I was holding a book, so I couldn't do it perfectly, but with my right hand as a hand and the book (held by my left) as my other I opened and closed my right hand to make the book sign. My mama thought I was signing all finished at first. Then she saw how I was watching her hands and intently looking at my own to see if they were doing what I wanted them to. After a few seconds, she understood and said "Yes! You are reading the book!" We were both very excited. I love when my mama and I understand each other.