Who's in charge?

Katerina is learning to get and do what she wants around here. Tonight at dinner she was almost finished eating. She signed "all done" so I was about to get her out of her high chair when she started pointing to the jar of Greek cookies. I tried to first give her some cheerios which were next to the jar--but she didn't want the cheerios, she wanted the cookies. She was telling me that she was all done with her dinner, so now it was time for dessert!

While she's been climbing stairs for sometime, but now she is trying to go up and down like a "big girl" by "walking" either by holding onto a railing or my hand. Whenever we are out in the backyard she will try to climb the stairs up to the kitchen door. Last night, we ate dinner outside and then let her run around in the yard. We blocked the stairs with the patio chairs by laying them down. Did that stop Katerina? Of course not. She pulled herself up and climbed over them. She is certainly persistent!

She does have her fair share of accidents though. Yesterday at church she was sitting on the pew eating bread after communion. A piece dropped on the floor and so she reached for it and fell flat on the floor! Poor thing...she cried a lot, but only for a few minutes. And it's only a little bruised today.

While she isn't talking, she certainly understands what you are saying. She knows her ball, and stories, and where Baba and Mommy are, but some things she still doesn't quite understand. I was trying to take a dish out of the oven today and I needed Katerina to stand back. I kept saying "No Katerina, Danger"....she just laughed. I eventually just had to pick her up, move her to the family room and run back to kitchen to take it out before she got there.