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.
Showing posts with label Signing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Signing. Show all posts
Monday, September 22, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
I Will NOT Apologize
I know that posting is scarce on this blog, and it's with good reason:
Abby is awesome!
I can not tell you how happy we are to have her in our life.
So, what's new with Abby?
She can squat and stand, and go between the two, without holding onto something!
Her vocabulary is not yet into words, but she sure is loud and emphatic. Over the weekend it was really fun to have her growling at customers at Target.
She is more gentle on the dog than on her parents sometimes. Okay, a lot of times.
She has learned lots of signs, and can be helpful in telling us what she wants. Our favorite right now is "Bath" because she gets super-excited. "Please" is downright adorable.
We have taken pictures, and I hope to get them off of the camera today or tomorrow.
Cute story from this weekend:
On Sunday we went to church in the morning, and she fell asleep in Anny's arms. By the time she woke up, she ended up sleeping for two full hours. Not the norm for her morning nap. She did not show any signs of being tired as we went shopping for plants to put in the garden we're working on. (pictures of that soon, too)
Turns out that she fell asleep between the garden center and Potbelly's, a total of maybe two miles. We picked her up, assuming that she would bounce right up like normal. We were wrong. Anny went to the counter to order, while I sat Abby on my lap while she woke up a little more. But she didn't! She folded over in half, face on feet, completely asleep. A-dorable.
(A couple of minutes later she popped right up, bright eyed and ready for her black beans and Cheerios's dinner. She did go to bed a little early that evening.....)
Abby is awesome!
I can not tell you how happy we are to have her in our life.
So, what's new with Abby?
She can squat and stand, and go between the two, without holding onto something!
Her vocabulary is not yet into words, but she sure is loud and emphatic. Over the weekend it was really fun to have her growling at customers at Target.
She is more gentle on the dog than on her parents sometimes. Okay, a lot of times.
She has learned lots of signs, and can be helpful in telling us what she wants. Our favorite right now is "Bath" because she gets super-excited. "Please" is downright adorable.
We have taken pictures, and I hope to get them off of the camera today or tomorrow.
Cute story from this weekend:
On Sunday we went to church in the morning, and she fell asleep in Anny's arms. By the time she woke up, she ended up sleeping for two full hours. Not the norm for her morning nap. She did not show any signs of being tired as we went shopping for plants to put in the garden we're working on. (pictures of that soon, too)
Turns out that she fell asleep between the garden center and Potbelly's, a total of maybe two miles. We picked her up, assuming that she would bounce right up like normal. We were wrong. Anny went to the counter to order, while I sat Abby on my lap while she woke up a little more. But she didn't! She folded over in half, face on feet, completely asleep. A-dorable.
(A couple of minutes later she popped right up, bright eyed and ready for her black beans and Cheerios's dinner. She did go to bed a little early that evening.....)
Monday, April 14, 2008
Some Brief Updates
On the Food front:
We tried egg yolk yesterday. That did not go over great, but she didn't gag like she did on Asparagus.
Her top two front teeth are through the gums, but barely. This creates many screaming fits.
On the Signing front:
Abby has picked up "Milk" and "Food" a few weeks ago. She now knows what each means, and is very adamant about being sure she gets what she's after.
We started giving her baths three weeks ago. We found it easier before that to pull her into the shower with one of us, but have decided that a bath fits better into a standard routine. Two weeks ago we found the sign for "Bath" and began using it. After one week, she has gotten that one down too!
On the Mobility front:
She has mastered crawling - and sometimes crawls too fast for the dog to get away!
She has mastered pulling herself up onto furniture and railings.
She is beginning to "cruise" things too. Last night it was a chair at Jae and Nadia's house. I think we're close to walking
On the Cute Picture front:
We tried egg yolk yesterday. That did not go over great, but she didn't gag like she did on Asparagus.
Her top two front teeth are through the gums, but barely. This creates many screaming fits.
On the Signing front:
Abby has picked up "Milk" and "Food" a few weeks ago. She now knows what each means, and is very adamant about being sure she gets what she's after.
We started giving her baths three weeks ago. We found it easier before that to pull her into the shower with one of us, but have decided that a bath fits better into a standard routine. Two weeks ago we found the sign for "Bath" and began using it. After one week, she has gotten that one down too!
On the Mobility front:
She has mastered crawling - and sometimes crawls too fast for the dog to get away!
She has mastered pulling herself up onto furniture and railings.
She is beginning to "cruise" things too. Last night it was a chair at Jae and Nadia's house. I think we're close to walking
On the Cute Picture front:
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Raw Behind
Had to schedule an extra pediatrician appointment for Abby on Friday because of a bad rash on her behind. When we talked to the day care folks they were unsure if it was just a rash or a yeast infection. (by the way, want to mess up a guy, use the term "yeast infection.") Thankfully it was not that bad.
Turns out that she just has a very bad diaper rash. Probably has something to do with the new food that we had been feeding her, but there is no way to be sure. We got a perscription for a better diaper cream, and it has helped tremendously already.
We have also been told to not wipe her backside until things have cleared up. When she needs to be clean, we need to run her under water - it keeps the rash from being irritated more. (I could give more details about how we're doing that, but will not!)
Oh yeah, and we've moved to a different food - applesauce. Nothing in the world less harsh than applesauce!
She did get weighed and is at 19 pounds.
As an update, she is not yet crawling, but gets a little closer everyday. Her favorite game is to empty her toy basket one toy at a time, so I think motivation of the toy basket being out of reach will start being used this week. Yes, I realize that I must be crazy to want her to be mobile! Remember, though, that I'm the one that wants her to start talking!
We think she is beginning to understand some sign language (milk) because she sure get's excited. Honestly, though, I can't tell if it's our saying "milk?" or the sign. I'm interested about the whole process of learning signing though!
Turns out that she just has a very bad diaper rash. Probably has something to do with the new food that we had been feeding her, but there is no way to be sure. We got a perscription for a better diaper cream, and it has helped tremendously already.
We have also been told to not wipe her backside until things have cleared up. When she needs to be clean, we need to run her under water - it keeps the rash from being irritated more. (I could give more details about how we're doing that, but will not!)
Oh yeah, and we've moved to a different food - applesauce. Nothing in the world less harsh than applesauce!
She did get weighed and is at 19 pounds.
As an update, she is not yet crawling, but gets a little closer everyday. Her favorite game is to empty her toy basket one toy at a time, so I think motivation of the toy basket being out of reach will start being used this week. Yes, I realize that I must be crazy to want her to be mobile! Remember, though, that I'm the one that wants her to start talking!
We think she is beginning to understand some sign language (milk) because she sure get's excited. Honestly, though, I can't tell if it's our saying "milk?" or the sign. I'm interested about the whole process of learning signing though!
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