Walking!

Raynor has been walking behind things for some time now (see him using Grandma's walker below). He took his first independent steps during our trip to New Mexico and has been working hard since then to improve his skills. He sometimes gets up to 7 or 8 (very small) steps in a row. He continues to enjoy pushing things around, from toys to chairs to laundry baskets.

He is also working on his communication skills. He actually started saying "cat" (well, ka...) a few months ago, although he was inconsistent about it, so we weren't quite sure. Whether he knew it then or not, he definitely knows "cat" now. He also says "duck" sometimes, and "quack" (usually in response to rubber ducks). Duck might be his "official" first word, as it was the first one we were relatively certain was intentional. He also knows "dada" and sometimes says "mama" as if he means it, but I'm not quite sure. He loves the sound of his own voice and babbles constantly.

In addition to working on words, he knows a few signs. "More" was his first sign. He also knows "down" and "all done" (he is just now starting to differentiate those two). He could probably learn more if we would be more consistent about using them. Quentin never really took to them (he learned "light" and "music," but nothing very useful), so we haven't been very good about it this time around). He also waves goodbye.