. . .from the cheesehead tree.
Meaning? Del is also signing "cheese" these days. What kind? Wisconsin cheddar, of course! She would eat cheese and nothing but all day if we let her.
Del's sign for cheese is a one hand open palm rotated left and right. This handshape and similar movement, but with various different locations, is also used by Del for "tree," "all-done" (both hands), "change," "hi," and "book" (both hands). I notice that Del will have a rapid increase in signs when she learns a new handshape. I assume this is because she starts to apply that handshape to all the different words she wants to communicate that can be made with her new skill. With that line of thinking, I have tried to get Del to sign "orange," which is the same handshape and movement as "milk" but is produced at the chin. No luck with that one just yet, but as citrus season gets underway she'll have more motivation!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
She said WHAT?!?!
Happy Friday to you. Or rather, happy Friday to me. I really have no idea what day it is for you. And if it's Monday and you just got to work and are futzing around on the computer instead of being productive, well - happy Monday to you.
Let's get down to it, shall we?
ENGLISH UPDATES
I admit I really like that Del's first word is "hi." It resonates with the strength and ease of her social nature. Her second word, "da-da," makes perfect sense in that it represents her powerful connection with her Daddy F, a part-time stay-at-home daddy who is beyond devoted and attentive to his mini person. So now for her third word (drum roll please). . . "no!" I think this indicative of her strong and willful spirit, and her excellent communication skills. She said it to me this evening when I was trying to distract her from the hot oven with a cupboard full of tupperware. She (standing, about even height with the top of the cupboard door) grabbed the door as I opened it, looked me square in the eye, shook her head and said, "nuh," and closed the door. Simple as that, she gains the upper hand. How can I argue with such a clear message? No tupperware for me, lady. Move along. She also started saying something very similar to "where?" while playing her favorite game of object hide-and-seek. It sounds more like "oooooooweh?" but she says it while signing "where?" so the meaning is apparent.
ASL UPDATES
Del has started using a lot more signs since my last post. She signs please, thank you, mommy, daddy, where?, tree, pain, food, fan, book. She will point to something and basically "ask" us to label it for her. She usually tries to copy the sign right away, but it takes some time for her to start using new signs on her own. She has started to put two signs together, always with "where?" as the first sign. Daddy F has played hide-and-seek with Del and her toys for months now, and "where?" has become her favorite game, to the point that she will hide things and come ask US where they are! We have seen her sign both "where da-da?" and "where dog?" after a family member's dog "disappeared" from the VP!
(Del signs "more", then "please" with an index finger rotated on her chest which she then corrects to an open hand circled on the chest, then "all-done" at the end of the video)
Her receptive language is also more advanced in ASL, which is not suprising considering she has two adult ASL models in the home and only one English language model. Earlier today I got home from work and Del was a bit frantic to nurse (yes, I'm still breastfeeding. No, she shows no signs of weaning). I told her, while changing out of my grubby hospital scrubs, that we would go outside and swing on the hammock to nurse. She kept hollering at me then I turned to her and signed (paraphrasing here): "outside soon for milk. milk outside in hammock." She calmed down as soon as I signed that to her and waiting for me to finish getting ready.
Del seems to have tuned in to Daddy F's deafness, and will wave to him mostly instead of saying "hi." She waves to get his attention now, too, and I've caught her just sitting and waiting for him to turn and catch her eye instead of shrieking for his attention like she does with me! I'm getting better about not jumping every time she screams, and have become more adept at giving her the language she wants to diffuse the mini-meltdown that happens when she can't communicate her wants/needs. It's definitely not a fun stage, but I realize that it's short lived, and I already see that she is using far more signs than screams in recent days. Hallelujah ASL, or this stage would likely last a lot longer!
See you all soon, and thanks for stopping by!
Let's get down to it, shall we?
ENGLISH UPDATES
I admit I really like that Del's first word is "hi." It resonates with the strength and ease of her social nature. Her second word, "da-da," makes perfect sense in that it represents her powerful connection with her Daddy F, a part-time stay-at-home daddy who is beyond devoted and attentive to his mini person. So now for her third word (drum roll please). . . "no!" I think this indicative of her strong and willful spirit, and her excellent communication skills. She said it to me this evening when I was trying to distract her from the hot oven with a cupboard full of tupperware. She (standing, about even height with the top of the cupboard door) grabbed the door as I opened it, looked me square in the eye, shook her head and said, "nuh," and closed the door. Simple as that, she gains the upper hand. How can I argue with such a clear message? No tupperware for me, lady. Move along. She also started saying something very similar to "where?" while playing her favorite game of object hide-and-seek. It sounds more like "oooooooweh?" but she says it while signing "where?" so the meaning is apparent.
ASL UPDATES
Del has started using a lot more signs since my last post. She signs please, thank you, mommy, daddy, where?, tree, pain, food, fan, book. She will point to something and basically "ask" us to label it for her. She usually tries to copy the sign right away, but it takes some time for her to start using new signs on her own. She has started to put two signs together, always with "where?" as the first sign. Daddy F has played hide-and-seek with Del and her toys for months now, and "where?" has become her favorite game, to the point that she will hide things and come ask US where they are! We have seen her sign both "where da-da?" and "where dog?" after a family member's dog "disappeared" from the VP!
(Del signs "more", then "please" with an index finger rotated on her chest which she then corrects to an open hand circled on the chest, then "all-done" at the end of the video)
Her receptive language is also more advanced in ASL, which is not suprising considering she has two adult ASL models in the home and only one English language model. Earlier today I got home from work and Del was a bit frantic to nurse (yes, I'm still breastfeeding. No, she shows no signs of weaning). I told her, while changing out of my grubby hospital scrubs, that we would go outside and swing on the hammock to nurse. She kept hollering at me then I turned to her and signed (paraphrasing here): "outside soon for milk. milk outside in hammock." She calmed down as soon as I signed that to her and waiting for me to finish getting ready.
Del seems to have tuned in to Daddy F's deafness, and will wave to him mostly instead of saying "hi." She waves to get his attention now, too, and I've caught her just sitting and waiting for him to turn and catch her eye instead of shrieking for his attention like she does with me! I'm getting better about not jumping every time she screams, and have become more adept at giving her the language she wants to diffuse the mini-meltdown that happens when she can't communicate her wants/needs. It's definitely not a fun stage, but I realize that it's short lived, and I already see that she is using far more signs than screams in recent days. Hallelujah ASL, or this stage would likely last a lot longer!
See you all soon, and thanks for stopping by!
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