little lady has got it goin' on.
Be forewarned, there is a whole lotta bragging going down in this post.
Back around the time that Makaela turned 7 months old, we went to the library and checked out Sign with your Baby by Joseph Garcia. It came with a book, instructional DVD and quick reference guide. I had read some articles online about signing with your baby and knew it was something I wanted to try. I learned that speech lags behind cognitive ability in infants. Babies want to communicate but the gap between desire and ability often leaves them frustrated (ain't nobody got time for a hissy fit). Since hand-eye coordination develops sooner, I liked the idea of signing with baby Mak so that she could communicate with us.
We started by signing "more" and "milk." Anytime Makaela was eating we'd ask if she wanted more and would sign "more." Anytime she was drinking milk we'd ask her if she needed milk and would tell her she was drinking milk, while also signing. The book suggested that it could take a couple months before the baby would start signing but it was important to be consistent with your approach and not give up.
We stuck with it and I'm excited to report that Makaela signs "milk" and "more" now! I can't begin to tell you how thrilling it is each time we see her sign. We haven't achieved perfection, but dang are we proud and we're ready to introduce more signs.
She is just blossoming into a little lady and letting us know more and more that she understands what we are saying to her or asking of her.
In addition to signing "milk" and "more" she also waves "hi" (she is seriously the friendliest little thing. She insists on making friends every where we go...as in she will stare a person down until they acknowledge her smiles and waves, haha). She also points at what she wants or is interested in, claps her hands for a "good job" or a "yay," shakes her head no-no (usually in a hilarious fashion that involves rotating her whole upper torso, and hanging her head down while swinging it back and forth), gives kisses, will hand you something if you ask her to, will "come here" when asked to and reaches her arms up when she wants to be picked up.
Just today I asked her to please not share her crackers with Rocky (and told Rocky to stop frickin' grabbing them out of her hand). She looked at her cracker, then looked at Rocky and shook her head no. It was THE CUTEST and I'm sure Rocky totally understood ;-)
The video below is her shaking her head no-no in a more controlled manner, haha.
I feel so blessed to watch her grow and learn. I wish that everyone could experience it with me first-hand, or see her through my eyes....it is uplifting and exciting and wonderful.
Some days it feels as though my heart could explode [and other days I feel exhausted, drained, and frustrated...but that's not what this post is about ;-) ]
her chubby fist is KILLING ME in that 2nd picture.
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