If at first you don't succeed...

I took Alana ice-skating for the first time today. My friend Bonny, experienced at helping new ice skaters, suggested we get a chair for her to push around. This went pretty well, and we made a couple of circuits around the rink. At one point, Alana fell down pretty hard. She was wearing a helmet, and we'd brought knee and elbow pads, so she was unbruised. Even so, she smacked down hard and didn't get up right away.

Bonny asked, "Are you OK?"
"Yeah," Alana said, climbing slowly to her feet. In a cheerful voice she added,
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

"Did you *hear* that?" Bonny said, somewhat incredulous.

I was almost too busy pumping my fists in the air to respond. YES! She *has* heard some of what we say :) !

Learning new skills...

Alexander is quickly learning new skills. He's waving and saying "Bye Bye", signing when he's all done, pointing at all the things he wants, and generally making himself much more understood.

He's also finally learning that getting a clean diaper is a good thing! When I lay out the changing pad and pat it to show him I want to change his diaper, he'll come over and lay down for me. Of course, he hasn't quite figured out how to lay down so his bum is facing the right direction yet though so I usually have to turn him around.