Communication 101

If you remember a few months ago I was lamenting my inability to communicate with E.  I am very thankful to say that E has been getting very communicative lately.  Her signing is taking off and she's been using them with great regularity and we have some first words.

We debated about the first word for  while.  She babbled mama and dada early on, but never used them in context.  And then she started the "uh-oh"s.  We are pretty sure she picked it up at daycare, though mommy and daddy do say it.  E would hold her drinking cup off the side of her highchair, look at one of us, give a little grin and say "uh-oh" and then drop her cup.  Timing baby girl, timing.  We decided that "uh-oh" was her official first word over Thanksgiving vacation when she kept using it anytime someone dropped something.

She's also saying "hi" in a very cute manner.  When she sees you, usually if it's been a while since she's seen you last, like when you are picking her up from daycare or when she gets up in the morning.  She will grin her little squinty eyed all cheeks grin and pipe "hi!".  Elorable!

I think she's also saying "daddy"  though it comes out "addy"  she has several times said it while looking in Daddy's direction.  Still waiting on the "mama"  daycare says she says it, daddy says she says it, even the babysitter I left her with for 2 hours says she said mama while there but with mama....no dice.  It will come.

Her signing is phenomenal though.  She can sign:
-more (finger to palm version)
-please
-thank you (she covers her mouth instead of just her chin and she doesn't put her hand down at the end but we're working on it)
-brush teeth (she just sticks her finger in her mouth for this one)
-eat (it kinda looks the same as brush teeth with the subtle difference that her finger isn't fully in her mouth)
-milk
-water (she puts all three fingers against her mouth instead of just the index finger)
-dog (funny story about this one below)
-cat (she does it backward for some reason, instead of drawing her hand across her cheek, she draws her hand across the back/side of her head)
-bird
-duck
-all done

The funny story about dog.  E loves Dogs.  LOVES them.  if she sees them anywhere within eye-site she gets all wiggly and starts saying "woo-woo" (woof-woof).  In her baby colors for the black and white page there is a picture of a Dalmatian.  We would sit and read the book together and I would do the signs for the animals.  Dog is signed by patting your thigh as if you are calling a dog to you.  E would (and still does) get confused and will pat her tummy, her head, her leg, anywhere she can reach.  but the funniest moment was the time when we were reading the book and I turned to the dog page.  She got excited, wiggled, said "woo-woo", looked up at me, and then patted....my leg.  She still does pat my leg if she's near me when she sees a dog.  Apparently I need to remember to do body contact signs on her not me, so that she doesn't need me to be there in order to sign.

I know talking is coming soon but I love that she can already communicate it makes my life so much easier and hers too I think.