Soakin' it all up

Before we had Kallen, I had read a lot about babies. The latest and greatest toys, mommy must-haves, consumer reports on the big things like car seats and strollers...and I even read a thing or two about the latest research and findings in baby care. Most everything I read, I took with a grain of salt, and either retained what I felt would be most important, or simply regarded it as humorous and informational.

One thing I read however, that I was really intrigued by, was communicating through sign language. I bought a few books, and talked to some people who had successfully signed with their babies, and I was hooked. It was definitely something we were going to do with Kallen!!!

Most of the books said to start showing the signs to your baby around 6 months (basically when you started solid foods), but not to expect any signs back until around 8 or 9 months. Of course there are always exceptions, and some research findings were different, but I went with the majority. We started with things like "please, more, milk, & eat". He picked up "milk" pretty fast, and every time I signed it, he got all excited...same with eat.

Then the big milestone!!! Around 9 1/2 months, Kallen and I were rolling a ball back and forth to each other. After doing it a few times, I held onto the ball and said "please"...he immediately made the sign! I was so excited. I jumped up and down trying to get him to do it again, and that's where it all began. Not long after, Kallen started signing "please" for EVERYTHING. It was cute in the beginning, but then we didn't know what he wanted, and it started to get frustrating for both him and us. We're working through it now, and at least he points to things so we've got a better idea of what it is he really wants!

Anyways, onto the real reason for this blog:

I basically stopped teaching Kallen signs when it seemed like he wasn't picking them up anymore. He would do "please", "all done", and a spastic all over version of "more", but that was it. I continued to show him the right way to do "more", although he never quite seemed to get it. Now that he's repeating a lot of the things we say, the signs didn't seem as important. WRONG...Although he's repeating what we're saying, it's not easily understandable, so we're back at square one...not being able to understand each other.

Just yesterday he reached another milestone: We were walking through Costco eating a chocolate chip cookie, and when it was gone, I asked Kallen if he wanted more. What did he do? Signed "more" the correct way. It was SOOOOOO cute!!!

Now he's signing "more", "please", and "all done", and I've realized that it's never too late! Babies are such sponges, and pick up everything that is going on around them, even if it doesn't seem like it. Well, I've been convicted. I got my signing books back out, and we've been walking around all day pointing to things and making the signs! It's actually been really fun, and I can't wait to see how much more Kallen does. I'm looking forward to really communicating with him, and realizing how absorbent he really is!