Communication breakthrough

So Fay and I had a memorable moment last week. Fay LUVS to climb on the playground structures. She can't walk yet, so its the perfect thing for her to crawl up on her hands an knees. She gets up high, and she clearly has a sense of accomplishment and independence. I've been trying to teach Fay how to descend the stairs "feet first". So she either has to turn around and go back the way she came, or she has to sit on her butt and put her feet on the stairs. The front way is really for things like the slide. I don't think it would work for stairs at this point.

Well, I've been teaching this to her for over 2 weeks. At first she got annoyed that I wasn't helping her down by picking her up or giving her my fingers for balance. Then, she tolerated me turning her body around and putting her feet on the lower stair. BUT, last week, on Tuesday I believe, she turned around all on her own and backed down a stair!

Not only is this exciting because descending stairs correctly is a really good thing ( I don't have to worry about heights quite as much, not to mention Fay sitting on the couch), but its also proof that she understands me when I try to teach her things.

Obviously she has learned other things from me, but this one was really the first things I repeatedly, diligently tried to teach her and.....saw results!

Some of the other things I'm repeatedly, diligently, trying to teach her but have seen not much progress.....

1. Say Dada, or Daddy
2. Clap her hands
3. High Five ( She may or may not do this, she does like to raise her hand when I raise mine)
4. Wave bye, bye.

Then there are the things that she learned by herself....

1. She pushes her arms through the sleeves once I get a new shirt over her head.
2. Pulls up on my legs and rubs her mouth back and forth on my leg to indicate hunger or thirst (like rooting).
3. Raises one hand and does a Miss America type wave when she wants someone's attention from across the room

I should mention her recent progress towards walking. Right now Fay is an excellent furniture cruiser. She can walk her way from one piece of furniture to the next. Although she would much prefer to use mommy's fingers to help her walk around the room.
Last week she started consistently letting go of the furniture with both hands and standing in place. At first it seemed as if she forgot to hold on and just didn't fall, until realizing the she was standing at which time she would gingerly lower herself to the ground. But now I think she is more comfortable with the idea of standing, and intentionally lets go. For instances, if she's holding a toy and wants to hold it with both hands while standing.