More on Communication

We had dinner with friends last night whose son is two month younger than Abby.  He's a cutie and has a great smile.  What struck me is that he's doing the exact same things as Abby was - learning to walk, reverting a little in speech - but Anny and I have completely forgotten about that stage.  It's a bit weird, really, since it was not long ago. 

We got to talking about signing.  They are actively trying to increase his vocabulary through signing, while we are kind of letting it plateau at where we have gotten, with a hope that soon enough she will begin to use her speech.  I am not so sure that we should be pulling back now!

One morning last week I discovered Signing Time on our local PBS station.  It's a well done, very informative half-hour of sign language learning.  Each episode has a theme.  So far Abby and I have watched Colors and Rooms of the House.  Very cool.  It's easier for ME to learn through seeing it in action than it is to figure out what the still images in a book are trying to say. 

The third reason that I think we should really keep on teaching Abby signs is that she is coming up with them on her own, and often they're the ASL standard signs!  In addition to the signs I told you last week that she knows, over the last week or two she has shown us:

Open - as in - I know my teacake is in here, please open it
Sunscreen - rubbing her arms before we go outside
Hat - thanks to school, Abby knows she needs a hat to go outside
Peanut Butter - okay, this one is a bit out of the norm.  She grabs a spoon, points to the cabinet and licks her lips.  It's adorable.

I'm sure that there are others she has done that we are totally missing.  It's adorable and we're glad that we have done this since we can ask her why she's crying or upset and she can tell us if she's hungry or thirsty, rather than just scream on the floor.

Our Little Big Girl

15 Month Checkup Stats:
24 pounds
31.5 inches

Thist means that her height is in about the 76th percentile and her weight is in the 50th percentil.  She's getting taller and thinner! 

One weird comment from the doctor is that he said "I can tell she is a smart one by the way she follows my light."  That was really cool to hear.  He asked how many words she said and was happy to hear that she has about 18 "words."  (In quotes because "bau" counts for book and ball")

She had an MMR vaccination and a Flu Shot.  Since she didn't get one last year, she has to have another one in 4 weeks.  She was a trooper and as soon as things were done (and needles out) we told her we were done and could put her shoes on.  She stopped crying almost immediately and was ready to roll. 

We asked about the need for vitamins, and the doctor said that it would probably be a good idea, so Anny stopped on the way home to get some.  We'll start that going this evening.  Hopefully giving Abby and I will take ours together, mostly so that I remember to start taking mine on a regular basis...

She's such a big little girl.  We're so happy to have her in our lives.  I'm looking forward to the next 15 months with such excitement about what she will do next!

Come Out Come Out Wherever You Are

We were cleaning up the bedrooms downstairs for some family in town tonight, and Abby discovered the "secret hiding place" under the stairs.  She did this for much longer than this video shows! 

Please try to ignore the terrible sound of my voice...


Discovery of the Doors from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.

Update: Signing!

We have decided that Abby knows all of the signs she needs to know.  I admit that it was hard at the beginning, and frustrating a few months in, but once signing became a daily event, she got it and we got rewarded! 

Abby can sign:

More
Milk
Food
Help
Please
THAT! (self-taught, and typically relates to food)
Wash Hands (self-taught as well!)

We have decided that we can communicate with her well, and she can communicate back to us just as well, so we are not going to teach her more signs.  If she creates some, we will go with them, but her speech seems to be moving along nicely and I would guess that she's one of those children that will not be quiet once she can speak!

I did get down on another one of those things she used to do but has dropped.  If you recall (here) Anny was not happy when Abby would only say "mama" when it was in a tearful "mamaamamaamaa" and it was not associated with good times.  Now Abby loves to use "mama" and uses it appropriately!  The thing she dropped?

Dada.

A Video for You

We took Abby to see the sun rise at the beach over Labor Day weekend. Okay, she woke up at 4:30 and we needed to get out of the house before she woke folks up. Pictures are on the photo pages (see right for links) but here is a short video of her screaming at the ocean, which was adorable:


Abby at the Ocean from Anny and Rob on Vimeo.