Eleanor had a lot of visitors this week, with Grandma early in the week, and Papa and Mimi over the weekend, and sported some new tricks for her visitors. For starters, Eleanor is really expanding her non-verbal communication skills. She is pointing with purpose (usually in the form of “I want that”, or “Those are your eyes”) and is shaking her head (as in “I don’t want to eat that”). It is great fun being able to get a glimpse into what she is thinking. Her climbing skills are also improving, she can now make it upstairs all by herself on a regular basis, as long as Mom or Dad is spotting her, and has learned to get down from the couch by scooting backwards on her tummy. Speaking of backwards – Eleanor surprised herself by walking backwards for a few paces. She got quite a grin on her face, but hasn’t yet repeated the act. Reading has also become more interesting, with Eleanor listening to longer stories and pointing out more and more objects in the pictures. Much to Zapa’s despair, chasing the cat has also become a favorite activity, usually with the goal of grabbing her tail. Ellie also likes to imitate – she will mimic Aunt Lary snapping her fingers or talking on the phone, Dad hiding the duck in the palm of his hand, etc.
Mom caught a great video of E dancing to the song on her play teapot – she was watching herself groove in the mirror. Hopefully, I’ll get around to posting it this week. Also captured on video was her first successfull use of a spoon – she managed to eat a piece of turkey that Mom placed on it. We took lots of pictures this week with all of the visitors – enjoy!
