other tricks Anastasia has learned recently

Anastasia has started a lot of new tricks in the past week, so I thought I'd write them down so I don't forget. A few of the cutest:

* Hugging. She hugs everything. First she would "Hug Mama" or "Hug Dada"--which she always does cheek first. She leans her head against you, then wraps her arms around you as far as she can reach, and then pats you with one hand. It's adorable. But lately she hugs everything. She hugs her toys; she hugs the floor; she hugs the wall; the other day when she wanted a bath, she hugged the side of the bathtub. (Of course I had to give her a bath then, only because it was so incredibly cute.)

* Saying "no." Not in words. She just shakes her head. It started the other day when I was trying to give her some teething medicine; she pulled her face away and then shook her head violently back and forth. "You don't want the medicine?" I asked, and she shook her head again. "No no no no no!" I said. "Are you saying, 'No no no no no!'?" She kept shaking her head, laughing a little now, and it's quickly become one of her favorite games. She definitely knows what it means, though, and uses it when she doesn't want something. I really hope to catch this on camera sometime soon, while it's still so adorably cute, so I can look back at it once she starts the real toddler tantrums and remember how darling her first "nos" were.

* Reading. She loves books (how could she not, with me for a mom?). I've always read while I nursed her, and now sometimes when I'm trying to nurse her to sleep, she'll roll away, sit up, crawl over to her own books, and sit there and turn the pages, watching me as she does so for approval. "See?" she's clearly thinking. "I can read my own book, just like Mommy!"

* Follow directions. She'll do all sorts of cute things when prompted: hugging, of course, is one of her favorites, but she'll also clap her hands, dance, pat the dog (or Daddy), and touch her tongue to her nose. (The last one is probably my favorite.)