We’ve been training Alexander to wave us пока-пока (good bye) as we leave for work each morning. As we are getting dressed by the entrance door, we would wave one hand at him and repeat пока-пока. At first, he just stared back at us looking all surprised and confused. His grandma Luba would sometimes take his hand and wave back at us. Gradually, he started understanding what we expected him to do, and once in a while he would raise his hand and make a feeble motion with it. Today, on November 8, the moment Alexander saw me go towards the door and put my shoes on, he actually waved пока-пока to me completely on his own. I could not believe it! I felt as if he connected the dots and now consciously was saying good bye to me.
At the same time, I am sure he is not yet understanding the concept completely. There was one time when he waved пока to Lena, as she left the apartment for a few brief seconds to throw trash out… and we’ve seen him wave with both hands as one of us went into another room… sometimes he does not wave at all, no matter how hard we try to get him to wave, such as when we wrap up a Skype session with his grandparents on the other side of the pond. Oh well, I am certain all of that will come soon.
p.s. written post factum on November 13.