Ella is making so much progress — in 2 areas: walking and talking! Finally, last weekend (Sunday), Ella did about 5 steps on her own between Etan and me. She was in control, a bit wobbly, but holding her own and staying on her feet without falling. When she finished she had a smirk of pride and seemed to be waiting for the applause and praise which she got. Funny how much like a typical toddler she looked with the same funny gait that a 9th month old would have. This is 3 years late but who cares! The big difference is that Ella can’t really get into the walking position by herself or fall down or get up normally. This makes a big impact on her confidence because she knows this. The frustrating thing for me is that she doesn’t really want to walk at home yet I’ve heard that she is “practicing” at school. On Monday her teaches wrote that she was walking on the black top at recess and took about 30 consecutive steps. I can’t even imagine this. How I wish I could have had a hidden camera. She either doesn’t want us to know she has these capabilities, is too tired to do much walking by the time she gets home, doesn’t trust us like she does her teacher, or doesn’t have a good area to walk about at home (i.e., too many obstacles). Great thing is that she is improving on this whether we see it or not. Ella has been babbling up a storm and is better at mimicking us. She also knows the alphabet and can point out most of the letters when we ask her to pick them out. Finally, Ella had a sleep over last weekend at her cousins’ home last Saturday night. According to her aunt and uncle she was a good girl and enjoyed herself. Only problem was that she didn’t fall asleep until about 11 pm and kept rolling off her mattress while asleep. Hmmmm..