Alexandra's New "Tricks"

I have a coworker who recently asked me what new "tricks" Alexandra is doing (Side-Yet-Not-Surprising-Note: He does not have children) and I was stumped.  I couldn't come up with anything on the spot but truth-be-told she is doing a lot of new "tricks."  She's discovered that her little legs can carry her just a tad bit faster than a snail's pace.  It's her own version of running.  We aren't aiming for the Olympic 100-meter dash yet, folks, but we have time.  She's also discovering that there is a world outside of a 5 foot radius of mom and dad, much to our delight (yes, that's sarcasm).  Imagine how tempting it must be for a little one who is testing out her new legs to see an empty aisle she can tear up and down.  Now, imagine the horror of her parents because the empty aisle is in church and the only reason it's empty is because church service is currently being held.  It should also be noted that we've created somewhat of a monster in that when Alexandra does start running (typically in the privacy of our own home) we've turned it into a "Catch-me" game and therefore she squeals in delight when captured.  Lucky for us, our church is child friendly though we've begun to question when her cuteness will take a back-burner to her parent's inability to control her.

She's also discovered her belly button and will proudly display it when prompted.  "Alexandra, where's your belly button?" we'll ask and she'll get the biggest grin as she touches her belly button through her shirt.  Then, as if to make sure you really grasp the concept of where her belly button is, the shirt comes up to reveal the portliest belly with the biggest outtie belly button you've ever seen.  This has resulted in a few Girls Gone Wild type flashing's but at the moment it's too cute to stop.  She's also slowly learning her other body parts such as eyes and ears though those have proven to be a bit harder to grasp.  Maybe the fact that the two words sound somewhat similar is throwing her off.  Needless to say, when asked where her eyes are she points to her ears and vice versa.  Clearly, she grasps what we're saying just not completely.

She's also taken to some sort of imaginary game, though we aren't 100% convinced she knows it's imaginary.  She will walk to us, arm extended, grasping something between her fingers and insist we open our hands to take it.  Only, there's nothing there.  I would guess that at 15 months of age imaginary play such as that is too old of a concept so I'm not really sure what's going on in that little head of hers.  It could be she really is picking something up so miniscule that it drops out of her hand almost immediately.  Who knows?  Either way, it's fun and we enjoy the game.

So, there you have it.  Alexandra's new "tricks."  I'm currently working on getting her to balance a treat on her nose and then eat it on command but so far no luck.  She has such a short little nose it's hard to balance anything on it.