What amazing things is/are your DC doing? Post your shameless brags here!

[mommy_someday]

DS started signing yesterday! He had had 'dog' for a couple of months (just patting his leg), but has been pretty inconsistent with it. Yesterday, however, he signed 'food', 'more' and 'cheese'!!! His version of 'cheese' is kind of a combo of 'cheese' and 'more', but he definitely gets his point across. They boy loves cheese!

I was so excited when I realized that he was starting to communicate with his hands that I started to cry. I'm thrilled that he's so close to being able to tell me his thoughts. I'm looking forward to having actual conversations during the day and I'm happy that this will help ease his frustration levels, which seem to have risen dramatically in the last week or so. I'm just bursting with excitement and ***had*** to share it with all of you. Thanks for indulging me. :)

Please share your brags about your own amazing kiddos!!!

[Jenn98]

In the last 3 days DD (5 months) has found her voice. She is sitting beside me screeching at the top of her lungs right now (mind you it is 11:40pm, so it is a little less amusing than if she were doing this during the day!). It's hilarious. She has also stuck her thumb in her mouth to suck it three times today. Very cute :)

Jenn

[mommy_someday]

Jenn, that sounds really funny! Now if she can just perfect that 'comedic timing'... ;)

[goodnightmoon]

Yay! Good for him! I'm trying to be more consistent in watching the DVDs with dd and in signing at least the very obvious words (food, water, cat, etc). I can't wait for her to "get" it. I know you are thrilled! :)

Laura
mommy to Eva Marie 2/16/05

[jamsmu]

YAAAAAY!! Isn't signing so much fun!! So glad to hear you can now converse!

Well... Carson told me my legs are beautiful. He's really into complimenting EVERYTHING and telling us he "wuvs" everything and its his favorwit.

And with Wesley everything is always new. Even though he's sick with an awful cold, he's smiling through it all. And laughing at everything. I love watching how much he adores his big brother. Oh! And he's starting to sit up!! (That's huge enough for his baby book!)

[mommy_someday]

Laura, FWIW I wasn't *super* consistent with the signs. We do them often and started them early, but sometimes I forget or my hands are full (seriously, how are you supposed to do two-handed signs when you're holding your DC???). We started watching the Signing Time videos a couple of months ago and DS really loves them.

Eva will "get it" eventually and how exciting for you when she does!!! :)

[mommy_someday]

How cute is Carson?!?!? It's so great that he looks for the positives in everything. Sounds like a glass-half-full kind of guy. :)

Way to go, Wesley! I remember how excited DH and I were when DS started sitting up. Definitely one for the baby book! And how crazy is it when they are sick and happy at the same time??? DS is going through the same thing and if it weren't for his runny nose and cough, you wouldn't know he was sick! I'm not complaining, just baffled, LOL!

Yes, signing is a lot of fun. And I owe you a big thanks for the ST videos! :)

[goodnightmoon]

That's good to know. I've felt a little bit guilty in the past whenever I've forgotten to sign. I'll keep at it, though...I can't wait for her to "tell" me what she is thinking! :)

Thanks!

Laura
mommy to Eva Marie 2/16/05

[tarahsolazy]

My sweet boy, who is not too verbal yet, finally said Mama last week. Well actually its MOM MOM shouted loudly. He runs up to me when I get home from work, shouting mom and hugging me, what could be better.

He has 50 signs, and puts them together at times, but no mama (and no mom sign) until almost 22 months.

He also learned to laugh after passing gas, another step down the road to the frat house.

[mommy_someday]

Oh, wow, I bet your heart just melted! I don't think mine is ever going to say "mama". Everything is "DAAAA! DAAAAT! DAAAAH!", which is cute, but definitely not "mama".

Luke and Fory could end up in a frat together. DH burped at the dinner table the other night and Luke did his best to imitate him. It was ***so*** hard not to laugh at it!

Fifty signs is awesome! Congrats to you and keep up the great work, MOM MOM! :)

[TahliasMom]

dd is going through a word explosion. other day she said "purple pillow" when i pointed to her purple round pillow with a happy face on it. today we were playing with bubbles, and she screamed out "bubbles." dd has her please sign down really well and uses it all the time but today she also started saying "thank you" w/o being prompted and signing it backwards! so cute, melts my heart. she also was watching me get dressed this afternoon and was trying to grab my boobs. she's very into body parts. anyway, when i said "mommy's boobs" she replied "mommy boobs"!!! :)

[lmintzer]

Joshua's also a late talker but is beginning the "word explosion". The cutest (verbal) thing that he is doing is identifying his shapes. He's learned circle, rectangle, square, triangle, and oval. His words for them are so cute: "rec-uh-uh," "oh-full", "tri-uh-uh". The other day, he even tried to draw a circle and a oval for DH on a Magnadoodle. We couldn't believe. He took the pen, went round and round, and proclaimed "Cih-cle". Then he made wider swipes and said "Oh-full". We were so proud!

[mudder17]

Both Mommy and Daddy were very late as well. Not 22 months, but still, they were pretty late, especially since everyone else in her playgroup was using it. Our theory was that DH and I are around her all the time and she didn't need to call our names. ;)

Of course, recently, she's started calling DH "Paul!" in a very loud voice. I think I need to start calling him "Daddy" when I need his attention. :P


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[mudder17]

Woo hoo! That's so exciting!!!! And so cute. :)


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[mudder17]

Isn't signing fun? I still remember Kaya using her first sign correctly (more) even though she handclapped for more until she was 20 months. Still, it was exciting that she "got it". Her first correct sign was "milk" and yes, I was so excited I just sat down on the floor and started nursing her. :)

Kaya's going through a word explosion right now. She's actually putting together sentences like "That's a blue car" or "That's mommy's coat". She's starting to understand that people have names and will call them by that name. So during vacation, she would call for Uncle Ren or Uncle Scott or Aunt Sasha or Aunt Alice Ann or her favorite, "Grandma!" :D Needless to say, her greatgrandmother was tickled pink by her and kept calling her "my princess".

And although I haven't done colors, numbers, letters, or shapes much at all, we started doing it recently and she can now bring me the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, or pink ball. She can sometimes point to an object and say the right color as well. She just recently started bringing me the "Z" for zebra and saying Zebra, so I know letters aren't far behind (she knows "A" inconsistently). And she can count to 3 correctly and we're working on 4-5-6. Sometimes she will say there are 2 of something and she'll be right, so I think she's slowly learning that the numbers represent something.

Interestingly enough, she's still picking up new signs or making up her own if I haven't shown her one. So this whole signing thing is just super exciting.

And for those of you wondering, we were not very consistent with signing with Kaya from around 9-11 months and only started doing it more and more when she got her first sign (we concentrated on More, Milk, and Water) and then she started picking up ones from Signing times as well. Maybe 2 months ago she was up to 150 words and signs and now she's got to have at least double that. Signing is sooooo worth it!

And yes, we still have our frustrating times, but due to the wonderful insight and support from women on these boards, I'm able to let things go a bit more and not worry so much about the frustrating times and to relish the fun and exciting times. :)

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[holliam]

I love these stories! I just have to brag about Mari. We've tried signing with her, but it hasn't worked. She always just repeats the word instead of the sign. LOL. She made up several of her own signs early on but she is actually really verbal.

Her favorite phrases are "Hi kitty/mama/dada/light/book/etc. though "hi kitty" is the most spoken! She also has started saying things like "Igotit"; it's all together so I don't think I can count it as 3 words, but she does it with "Itryit" and "Ihaveit" too. She really just talks a lot, and we are just in awe of her! We have a lot of conversations with her, and it's a hoot.

She is also so observant, and watches everything we do, and just completely understands everything. It's just a riot to watch her. She loves playing her drums, doing puzzles, and reading books.

I am continually in awe of her. She is just such an absolute joy to be around, and I am so thankful that she is so happy and healthy.

ETA: Oh, I forgot! Today she started asking about colors. Then she repeated "green candle", "red candle", etc. That surprised us!

ETA: Yipes, didn't mean to kill the thread! I am just really amazed by her verbal skills after hearing exclusively Spanish for the first 7.5 months of her life!
Holli

[cmdunn1972]

That's totally cool, Erica! :) We just ordered "Baby Signing Time" from the website (yes, I know it's on backorder), and now I can't wait until it comes! Thanks for sharing your story. :)

DS is now 8.5 months old and is getting bolder with the cruising. He's getting impatient with crawling around and being carried, and insists on getting from room to room on his own 2 feet. (He "walks" while holding our hands.)

The crazy part is that I now have to dress him differently. Those "Sleep n Plays" were great when he was crawling. They're also great for keeping his feet warm since I don't have to worry about his socks falling off. But, DS is low-waisted, and he was always tripping on the feet when he tried to walk! Now, I've got him wearing 6-9 month pants with 9-12 month tops (with socks that always fall off }().

ETC: Spelling

[jenjenfirenjen]

OK, I had to reply to Tara's post since one of Luke's recent "accomplishments" is defintely Animal House material. He loves to, ahem, "play with himself" when DS is dressing him for bed. DH was trying to get a diaper on him and said, "OK, stop playing with your balls" and DS shouts at the top of his lungs "My balls!" I was sitting at the computer right outside his room and nearly fell off my chair laughing.

His vocabulary is really expanding, both with signs and verbally. He started signing "train" after he got one for Christmas. He signs "potty" whenever DH or I leave the room to go to the bathroom. And he says "ball," "bubbles," and "truck" pretty clearly now. Of course, he only has one volume (extremely loud) which can be a bit embarassing in public (like everyone at Red Lobster today knew when he was "done!) but all in all, it's a pretty fun time.

[ribbit1019]

Today DD said "Pretty!" after putting on her necklace and crown.

DH taped a re-run of Regis and Kelly, they had Ashley and Joey McIntyre on from "Dancing with the Stars". They were dancing the Jive to "I'm Still Standing". DD watched them dance the first time and near the end went running to DH and grabbed his hand so that Rich could turn her. Every time he plays it she runs to him so he can turn her and will even do jive hands while trying to kick like Ashley, it is too freaking cute!!

Christy
Maddy born 6/09/04
http://lilypie.com/baby2/040609/3/4/0/-5/.png
Little Man due 3/02/06
http://bd.lilypie.com/cKLom4/.png
Co-Owner Ribbit Baby

[kboyle]

Thanks to the leapfrog letter factory dvd ds1 now knows all his letter sounds & can recognize them + sing the ABCs!!

ds2 has also found his voice and his thumb!

[CBB]

I just love reading about all the amazing things all the babies and toddlers are doing.

Lately every time after DD passes gas, she would imitate by saying "Booo" then laughes at herself. She does the same when she burps -- she'll say "guuu" after she burps and laughes at herself. Not really amazing, but it really cracks me up everytime.

DD is able to recognize and say all of the alphabets since last month. She is able to say 1-12 in English and 1-10 in Chinese. She loves hanging from things -- monkey bar, chairs, tables, staircase. She'll start counting when she hangs from things. I truely believe it's because she was born in the year of monkey.

Another cute thing lately, when DD is getting ready for bed, she needs to hold on to 8 to 9 of her stuffed animals. Tonight she had 2 lambies, 3bears, 2 monkeys, 1 elmo, 1 rabbit and 1 soft stacking ring in her arms. Then we have to pick her up with all of her animals and put her in bed. It was pretty hard because she keeps dropping some of them and we have to pick them up while holding her and the rest of her animals. It's pretty funny though watching her trying to hold on to all of the stuffed animals.

[lilycat88]

Like Holli, signing never worked for us. DD always knew what they meant but had no interest in actually doing them. Now, she says "eat" and signs at the same time. The word came first. She's talking up a storm now and we laugh every time she comes to us and hands us something while saying "tankyew mommy/daddy". She gives us stuff and thanks us.

The most amazing thing she is doing, though, is putting herself to sleep. We have to do a nebulizer treatment at night before bed and then we ask her if she is ready to get in her bed. If she is, she marches over and stands in front of her crib until we put her in. If she isn't ready quite yet, she'll have a story or two. Then, she'll go over to her crib. Once in her bed, she walks over to her music box (the music box from her mobile), turns it on, walks to the end of the crib, grabs her bunny, and lays down. We don't hear another word out of her. She's never liked cuddling before bed and she's slept through the night since 11 weeks but none of my friends believe how easy it is to put her to bed now.

Jamelin
Mom to Susanna born 6/29/2004

[mommy_someday]

Colleen, my DS is having the same problem with his one-piece sleepers! He's really thick in the middle and has to wear 18-month bottoms, but his legs are more like 12-month length, so he's constantly tripping over his pant legs. Never imagined he'd be wearing shorts in the wintertime!

I think you'll really love the BST video when you get it. They are so great!

[mommy_someday]

Kaya is such a smart cookie! That stage sounds so interesting. It's amazing to me how many signs and words she has! How funny that she calls your DH "Paul". They really pick up on things we don't even realize we're doing, don't they? Thanks for sharing that 'mommy' and 'daddy' didn't come to Kaya right away. I can't wait for the first time Luke says "mama"! :)

[mommy_someday]

ROTFLMBO!!!!!! Oh my sides hurt, Jen! I wonder if the sign for balls and "my balls" is the same one...? Hmmmm. Betcha you won't see *that* on a Signing Time video! Thanks for the laugh!

[mommy_someday]

Oh, I bet the backwards thank-you is the most adorable thing to watch! How amazing it is when they start to grasp those abstract concepts! Thanks for sharing.

[mommy_someday]

Wow, that is so amazing! I love the pronounciations, especially 'oh-full'. :) You have every right to be proud!

[mommy_someday]

Holli, Mari sounds like an amazing little girl! I was so surprised when DS actually signed the other day, because he's really verbal like Mari. He tries to say everything we say (it just all sounds like 'dad, dat and dod'!). It's so incredible that she's saying so much in English with her Spanish background. Thanks for sharing with us!

[mommy_someday]

Oh my gosh, Maddy sounds like such a doll, Christy! Dancing and jive hands...must have been so cute! And pretty? She's got that right! :)

[mommy_someday]

Yay, Charlie and Max! Charlie sounds like such a bright kiddo! And isn't it so exciting when the little ones discover things that we take for granted all day long? It definitely put some major joy in my life!

[mommy_someday]

Sounds like you have a comedienne on your hands! I hope her monkey-business isn't giving you too many heart attacks!

[mommy_someday]

Would you mind if Susanna had a talk with my Luke? He's almost one and he's still only sleeping 4-5 hours at a time, LOL! Your DD sounds like an amazing little girl!

[karolyp]

My DD learned how to walk this past week!!! We were up in Canada visiting family and I guess she was trying to keep up with all the other kids!!

Here we go on another new adventure!!!

[cmdunn1972]

Erica, isn't it nice to know that we're not the only ones with kids built such that they wear two different sizes? Much to DH's chagrin, I'm now dressing DS in two-piece outfits to rectify the problem. On top, he wears 9-12 month bodysuits. On the bottom, he wears 6-9 month pants/jeans. The only trouble is getting DH to "let go" of the one-piece outfits. (I packed them away when I transitioned DS to the next size up so that DH wouldn't be tempted. }( )

I've heard so many great things about ST on these boards that I'm absolutely giddy with excitement about getting the set! It's like Christmas all over again! :D

[kransden]

My dd told me yesterday that "My boogers are tasty!" I wonder what other culinary adventures we are in store for?
LOL!
Karin and Katie 10/24/02

[Judegirl]

Karin, I love that one!! Thanks for sharing!

[Judegirl]

Riordan is obsessed with making sentences - and making them correctly. She will repeat the words in different sequence until she says what she wants to say, the way she wants to say it. But last month, she said her first non-corrected sentence.

She had been trying to shut down my computer all day long and I had to keep intercepting her, and I must've had a look on my face at once point because she laughed and said "I driving Mommy bonkers?" (For the record, I am fairly certain that I have only told her that she was driving me bonkers ONCE, when she was about 11 months old and starting to get into everything at once...I never tell her that!)

And this one's not a brag, but I think it's pretty funny...and a little weird. For a couple of months, Rory has been asking questions of her own behavior a lot - like touching her head to the floor and saying "What are you doing Rory?" in this voice that means that *we're* thinking that.

Tonight she threw a stuffed dog out of the crib, then looked at me and said, in that same voice, "Why throw doggy on the floor?" I said, "That's a good question - why? You didn't want him in the crib?"

But all she said was "Why Rory do that? Throw doggy on floor?"

??

Jude