No no no no no!

"No" is a word that Rachel has learned, in a big way. As she becomes more mobile, she's hearing it more often. I'm not into the philosophy that it's a bad thing for a child to hear the word "no" and that you should only use positive talk with them. I think that's bunk. Kids need to know that there are boundaries and that it's acceptable for their parents to tell them they can't do or have or say whatever they feel like. I do think they need to hear a lot of positive reinforcement, too, so I always thank her when she's obedient or gives me something or does other nice things.

Anyway, I went to wipe her nose this weekend, and I got a "no!" We also heard that word a number of times at the dinner table last night. We met up with friends at a restaurant, and Rachel wanted everything on the table. She's got a surprisingly long reach for a baby. She'd point at the things she wanted and knew she wouldn't get and would say "no." She even pointed at a knife and said that, and I don't think we've ever had occasion to tell her no when it comes to knives, so I'm not sure how she made that association.

It's so cool to hear her putting emphasis on words and using them properly. She's completely understanding concepts and learning new ones that we don't even necessarily try to teach her. Of course, the flip side of that coin is that we need to be even more careful about what we say and do around her. We don't want to be parents that say "do what we say, not what we do," so we really want to make sure we're setting good examples for her. No pressure there.