Ayla is the cutest!

Ayla is the cutest! She is getting smarter and more resourceful every day. What surprises us is how independent and wary she is. Several weeks ago she learned how to climb on the table. The table can hold her weight. She knows exactly where her body is in relation to the table’s edges and even if she is crawling in reverse on the table, knows exactly where to stop. Climbing on the table is easy for her. She even knows to drag a chair from across the room up to the table, climb it, and from there – to the table. Hurray!! Her climbing capabilities (inherited from both parents) is evident in almost any flat surface just barely past her reach – Aba’s table, the chest in the living room, and any chair she can find. She has started her artistic years. A couple of months ago she discovered the wonder of drawing – you take a pen/pencil, move your hand above a paper and there is a trace of your movement – amazing! She loves it so much we bought her a drawing table, where she can sit and draw with her water-based non-toxic markers. Mama is still struggling to teach her not to draw on the carpets or on the walls … She loves to mimic. It’s enough that she sees us doing something a couple of times for her to be able to mimic. We have a water delivery service and a big water bottle holder. She saw us using it, so she would find a bottle or a cup, take it to the water device, put the cup on its tray, pour herself some water, and then take the cup to some other place in the house (without spilling a drop) and sit down to drink it. The problem is, that sometimes she finds it more fun to just play with the water as it pours (keeping one hand on the faucet to keep the water flowing), or to spill intentionally the water on the floor , sit in it, and splash water everywhere. Resulting preventive actions were taken and the cooler was toddler-proofed. Right now, while I’m writing this, she just ran to find the backpack we use for her stuff when we go out, grabbed her doll stroller, and attempted to put the backpack on (she almost succeeded – she got one arm on, and almost got the second one in the strap). If she would have gotten it, she would have probably done what she does once she gets her shoes on (she can put her boots on by herself) – grab the stroller, walk with it to the door, take the keys if she can find them, and yell behind her to anyone listening ‘bye-bye, bye-bye’…. She’s just the cutest…