I'm going to have to start recording Ruby's language skills from time to time because they are just so much fun. So here is the first one, which requires an explanation.

While we were in Amsterdam Ruby picked up some Dutch. I am positive she learned "nee" (no) from Jente, and a week later she still uses it. When we say goodbye she now occasionally says "doei" (the Ducth version of "ciao"). But mostly she's a copycat. This has been true for a few months now, but has exploded in the last few weeks. I dare say hearing different languages around her has fostered this. And it's a riot.

Pippa, my parents dog, has one of her doggie beds close to the dinner table on their porch. She'll often come begging for scraps (and loves the toddler whose food rarely all stays on her plate), and one of my parents inevitably has to ask her to "ga in je mand" (go back to your bed). The first time they said this, I thought to myself that Ruby might start repeating this--and she did, out of the blue, without prompting, a few days later. Complete with the finger-pointing action.