Signs, Signs, Everywhere Are Signs
Hello, everyone,
If we didn't see you at Thanksgiving, I hope we'll see you at one of Darrin's parties. Invites are in the mail! :-) Whether you bring a gift or not is unimportant; I just hope we get to see everyone. That's gift enough. But if you did want an idea, we do have a liddle list for the Liddle Bear at Amazon.com. In addition to asking what Darrin might like, people have also been asking what Mommy and Daddy might like, so here are some links to our perpetual wish lists. We certainly don't expect gifts--this has been an especially tight year for so many people, ourselves included--but I did want to post these lists for those who have asked.
Darrin's: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/23SLN3TE2ZOV7/102-3160338-3671361
Mommy's: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/1OP4F4KH4V19M/102-3160338-3671361
Daddy's: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/1GI9PY9GPJFRW/102-3160338-3671361
I do have a small bit of news to tell you. As you may or may not know, I have been encouraging Darrin to use some kind of sign language to help him express what he needs or wants. For the most part, the only sign he has actually used is his own version of a sign for "food," which has meant anything from actual food to milk to his pacifier, just that he wanted something in his mouth. The American Sign Language official sign for "food" (or "eat" I think) is to hold an imaginary something between your thumb and fingers (a closed "pickle claw" position, if you will) and repeatedly put it to your mouth. Darrin's sign was both hands clasped together repeatedly brought up to his mouth. I'm trying to learn new signs all the time, but as with any second language, vocabulary is something that grows slowly, not suddenly. I have continued to use whatever signs I do know for Darrin's benefit, hoping he would eventually pick up on them. For that matter, I try to use Spanish words too, whenever I know them. It's never too early to start kids on a second or third language. In fact, the earlier they start, the more fluent they are likely to become. Adults learn a second language much differently than children, and retention isn't as great.
Anyway, back to signing...Darrin learned a sign! He made his first "real" sign yesterday, the sign for "fan." Darrin has always been fascinated by the ceiling fans. Lately, he's begun pointing his finger at anything and everything, and the fans are a favorite. When he points, he usually makes some sort of verbalization, whether it's a grunt or a "mmm" sound, but his vocabulary is so very limited right now, I imagine it must be frustrating for him to not be able to voice exactly what he wants or sees. This is why sign language is so great for babies who are just learning to speak. It is a way for them to get ideas across while their mouths and tongues are still not fully cooperative. So, I have been showing him the sign for "fan." You point your finger straight up (and he has been pointing anyway, so this part was easy I suppose), and then you twirl it around and around, like you are following the motion of one of the fan blades. When he's interested in a fan, I've been saying the word and showing him the sign, and also making the sign with his hand for him. Now, anytime he sees the fan and points, and I ask him, "Oh, do you see the fan?" he will twirl his little hand around and around all on his own!
You can just tell he's so very happy to be able to say something specific all by himself. He wants to communicate so much. I will keep working with him and expanding my own signing vocabulary too. Most signs are too complex or use too specific a finger position, but maybe he can handle other simple signs, like "cat" (grab and pull whiskers outward from your cheek) or "diaper" (two fingers of each hand act like they're closing diaper clasps at your waist). Actually, I always figured "milk" would be his first sign (both hands alternate squeezing downward to milk a cow), since I've been doing that one the longest and most often. I guess he just loves those fans too much! Anyway, it's time for me to go now--the Liddle Bear is up from his nap and it's time for a little something, for both of us--I've got a rumbly in my tumbly too!
TTFN!
MommyFaerie
If we didn't see you at Thanksgiving, I hope we'll see you at one of Darrin's parties. Invites are in the mail! :-) Whether you bring a gift or not is unimportant; I just hope we get to see everyone. That's gift enough. But if you did want an idea, we do have a liddle list for the Liddle Bear at Amazon.com. In addition to asking what Darrin might like, people have also been asking what Mommy and Daddy might like, so here are some links to our perpetual wish lists. We certainly don't expect gifts--this has been an especially tight year for so many people, ourselves included--but I did want to post these lists for those who have asked.
Darrin's: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/23SLN3TE2ZOV7/102-3160338-3671361
Mommy's: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/1OP4F4KH4V19M/102-3160338-3671361
Daddy's: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/1GI9PY9GPJFRW/102-3160338-3671361
I do have a small bit of news to tell you. As you may or may not know, I have been encouraging Darrin to use some kind of sign language to help him express what he needs or wants. For the most part, the only sign he has actually used is his own version of a sign for "food," which has meant anything from actual food to milk to his pacifier, just that he wanted something in his mouth. The American Sign Language official sign for "food" (or "eat" I think) is to hold an imaginary something between your thumb and fingers (a closed "pickle claw" position, if you will) and repeatedly put it to your mouth. Darrin's sign was both hands clasped together repeatedly brought up to his mouth. I'm trying to learn new signs all the time, but as with any second language, vocabulary is something that grows slowly, not suddenly. I have continued to use whatever signs I do know for Darrin's benefit, hoping he would eventually pick up on them. For that matter, I try to use Spanish words too, whenever I know them. It's never too early to start kids on a second or third language. In fact, the earlier they start, the more fluent they are likely to become. Adults learn a second language much differently than children, and retention isn't as great.
Anyway, back to signing...Darrin learned a sign! He made his first "real" sign yesterday, the sign for "fan." Darrin has always been fascinated by the ceiling fans. Lately, he's begun pointing his finger at anything and everything, and the fans are a favorite. When he points, he usually makes some sort of verbalization, whether it's a grunt or a "mmm" sound, but his vocabulary is so very limited right now, I imagine it must be frustrating for him to not be able to voice exactly what he wants or sees. This is why sign language is so great for babies who are just learning to speak. It is a way for them to get ideas across while their mouths and tongues are still not fully cooperative. So, I have been showing him the sign for "fan." You point your finger straight up (and he has been pointing anyway, so this part was easy I suppose), and then you twirl it around and around, like you are following the motion of one of the fan blades. When he's interested in a fan, I've been saying the word and showing him the sign, and also making the sign with his hand for him. Now, anytime he sees the fan and points, and I ask him, "Oh, do you see the fan?" he will twirl his little hand around and around all on his own!
You can just tell he's so very happy to be able to say something specific all by himself. He wants to communicate so much. I will keep working with him and expanding my own signing vocabulary too. Most signs are too complex or use too specific a finger position, but maybe he can handle other simple signs, like "cat" (grab and pull whiskers outward from your cheek) or "diaper" (two fingers of each hand act like they're closing diaper clasps at your waist). Actually, I always figured "milk" would be his first sign (both hands alternate squeezing downward to milk a cow), since I've been doing that one the longest and most often. I guess he just loves those fans too much! Anyway, it's time for me to go now--the Liddle Bear is up from his nap and it's time for a little something, for both of us--I've got a rumbly in my tumbly too!
TTFN!
MommyFaerie
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