Out of the HANDS of Babes!

Signing PLEASE to request more blueberries and oatmeal at breakfast last week. For those of you who know ASL, you will realize this is NOT the location in which PLEASE is signed. Yeah...we're not sure where this came from, either!!!!

Around the time she hit ten months old, Susannah began to consistently use sign language to communicate with us. It was almost as though someone flipped a switch and turned the "language light" on! MILK was her first sign, followed quickly by RYLIE. I wish I could remember the order in which she began to acquire other signs; however, her rate of acquisition is currently so fast that it's all becoming a blur!

Now, at age 13 months, Susannah has well over 50 signs that she consistently uses. She "babbles" with her voice and with her hands all the time, moving her fingers as she jabbers and jargons. And she is CONSTANTLY looking to us for the name of something in both spoken English and American Sign Language (ASL), though her expressive ASL far exceeds what she is able to say with her mouth. She is still in the phase of pointing at everything of interest, and consistently couples her pointing with looking at us and moving her hands as if to inquire, "What is that called, Mama and Dada, and how do I say it myself?"

Needless to say, with a vocabulary like hers, scarcely a moment goes by when we are confused about what she wants...or when she is not dialoguing with us about the world around her! A walk in the park now consists of her pointing at everything she sees, looking back at me to request its name in English and ASL, and then, next time she sees the object, she repeats the sign back after using her voice to get my attention. Such a conversant little Strawberry we have!

Below, a list of her current signs (I hope I got them all!):

• MILK (she seems to use this for "Mama," too...insulting as that is!!!)


• DADA


• RYLIE

• HI


• BYE-BYE (distinctly different from HI)


• BUTTERFLY


• MORE


• PLEASE (she signs this on the side of her head for some reason, though the real sign is made on the upper chest!)


• EAT


• CATERPILLAR


• YAY! (Deaf applause)


• FAN


• BATH (any body of water is a "bath"...the community pool, her wading pool, the park pond, a stream, etc.)


• WATER


• YOGURT


• DUCK


• HORSE


• CAT


• DOG


• FISH


• FROG


• BIRD


• RABBIT


• CHICKEN


• MONKEY


• BALL


• UH-OH


• MORE


• BOOK


• PRAY


• ALL-DONE


• CRACKER


• BREAD


• APPLE


• BANANA


• UH-OH!


• BOOM! (anytime she falls and bumps herself)


• MUSIC


• SLEEP


• ONE (she puts her finger proudly in the air anytime someone asks, "How old are you?" Thanks, "Aunt" Kara!)


• SILKIE (her "lovey")


• O's (Cheerios)


• SWIMMING


• SWING


• BRUSH-TEETH


• SO BIG!


• WASH-HANDS


• BRUSH-HAIR


• ROUND-AND-ROUND (when she sees a pinwheel or anything that spins)


• PACI


• TREE


• HAT
  

I am fairly certain that I am forgetting some, but this is all I can think of right now! No matter...the list will increase by at least a sign or two come tomorrow, anyway!

Susannah also uses a vast repetoire of animal sounds, including a growl for lion, tiger, and bear; barking and panting for doggies; meow for kitties; "mmmmm-ooooooooooooo" for a cow; very intentional "ba-a-a-a-a-a for sheep"; "peep peep" for chickies; "quack" for a duck; and several more. Her cutest sound? The gutteral snort she does when she sees a pig! One day I referred to her toes as her "piggies," and she immediately made her piggy snort! :)

Our little Strawberry participates in songs (she especially loves, "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," and chimes in when we sing, "If you see a lion, don't forget to ROAR!" and "If you see an alligator, don't forget to SCREAM!" In addition, she labels the parts of her face along with a few other body parts when asked, and follows a growing number of one-step directions. Can you tell I'm an early childhood educator by nature???!!!

Oh, language is such fun...a veritable window into the sponge-like mind of a child!