Traveling girl

I've been delaying a post in the hopes to get a couple of corresponding pictures and/or videos. But no luck thus far! They will have to come later.

Elaine has pulled out a few new tricks this week. First, kids her age like pulling things out of other things. So Elaine likes to pull books from the bookshelf, pull papers out of the printer, grab anything out of a drawer (she'll spend 10 minutes trying to get a drawer open for this purpose), and pulling toys out of a bin. In the last week, on several occasions, she has started to place items in containers. Very soon, I know, we'll have her cleaning up after herself!

Elaine also began clapping. It's a little on the later end developmentally for clapping. She's done other sophisticated stuff with her hands for a while (waving, pointing, wagging her finger, etc); but the clapping hands are brand new. She uses it to celebrate, to get attention, and I think as a modified sign for "more." When she wants more food she seems to clap. It appears she also used it to request being picked up.

Incidentally, Meredith has been practicing snapping her fingers. It's a difficult and frustrating task for a preschooler. Meredith is doing pretty well at it! She has the movement right and often makes a good "snap" noise with her right hand. I try to encourage her, in part, by telling her I don't snap very well with my left hand either. Every once in a while she practices winking too.

Lastly, Elaine is "traveling." She's been able to pull up on parents' hands and other things for a while now; though, she hasn't been all that excited by it. This week, she has pulled up on the bottom stair and a couple other objects, and "traveled" a few steps over, unassisted. Today, she did this a couple times, as a means to trying to figure out how to go up the stairs when a parent or the cat went up. It won't take her long to realize that walking (and climbing the stairs) are necessary for keeping up with her big sister.