Learning to fear the water and asking for help

Watching the learning and growing process of a child is an amazing experience. It is hard to believe that almost twenty months ago Ella was a tiny baby who could only cry to express her needs and couldn't even hold her head up. Now Ella is this little person, who can communicate with words (among other ways of communicating), and who is currently running in circles around our living room (well, at least she was when I started writing this post). She has learned so much in the past twenty months!

Something little that she has recently learned really intrigued me. Over the past few weeks there have been a couple of times that Ella has slipped in water on the floor (whether it was a drip of water or she walked where we had just mopped). She hasn't been hurt when she slipped, but these experiences have still been very traumatic to her, so much so that she has learned to fear the water. Now, when she walks in our kitchen she looks on the floor for spots of water, and if she sees one you can see the fear in her eyes - she doesn't want to fall. In fact, there are times she will not move once she sees the water. Instead she asks us for help - whether that be by crying, raising her arms up for us to carry her, grabbing our hands to hold when she walks, or even saying "help, help."

So, what is so interesting about the fact that she has learned to fear the water on the floor? For me, it has been interesting to see how many things she put together in the whole situation. First, she has figured out what caused the problem in the first place (the water). Secondly, she figured out that she needs to avoid it. Finally, although she hasn't quite figured out that she can walk around it, she has figured out that she can ask us for help - and that part absolutely melts my heart.

I love her so much, and I cannot wait to see what she will learn next!