Having fun

The other day Ilianna and Jan were having some fun on the couch and I took a couple of really great pictures!

They were really having a great time! Fooling around - that's one thing that Ilianna really knows how to do and loves doing!

This week Ilianna has learned a new word, "nee", which means "no". Actually, she knew the word already, but was not applying it to everyday life. When we would ask her something, for example if she wanted a particular item, she would say "eehhh", instead of no, so since last week I've really been working with her to get her to say no, instead of making that annoying sound. Yesterday it proved to work, because when she wanted something, and I had to guess what she wanted, she said no to an item that she didn't want, and yes to the one she did want! That's another hurdle she's jumped over! And this afternoon when I was putting on my scarf, Ilianna named it, saying "sjaal", and I asked her who's "sjaal" it was. She didn't understand that question, so I said "is it Ilianna's sjaal?". She answered by saying "Mama sjaal". That was really exciting, because she's associating things with people, and that is really super! All of these little things probably are really trivial to most parents, but for us, they are really big steps she is taking.

One last picture, and it's of Ilianna with her doll. If you squeeze the feet, it will cry. Last week Ilianna surprised us by saying "Oh, baby", when the doll cried, it was so very cute!

On saturday we are going to see Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas), who is arriving here in Kollumerzwaag. I have been practicing the special Sinterklaas songs with Ilianna (and learning them myself) and hopefully that will be something she will recognize on saturday if her surroundings are too busy for her. We are really curious how she will react to everything. If I get any pictures, I will post them next week.