MMMMMmmmmm, Chocolate!

My 14 month old, Elsie, has hit the language development stage. It is amazing to watch their ability to communicate blossom. Her newest word is "MMMMmmmmmmm!" Okay, maybe that's not an actual word. Overproud mother that I am, I count it, along with various animal sounds.

Yesterday, I ate the cadbury egg the Easter bunny so generously reserved for me. Right after doing so, Elsie asked to be picked up. She immediately found my mouth and its chocolatey odor to be of great interest and offered me an open mouthed kiss. I noisily kissed her back, to which she responded with a heartfelt "MMMMMMmmmmm!" Yes, she is definitely my child. We both find just the odor of chocolate to be delicious!

She is our first child we have tried to teach sign language. It's been a blast! I love the fact that she can communicate things that her verbal skills have not yet been able to accomplish. We were walking through a store and she signed "dog." I looked around and, sure enough, there was a row of dog lawn ornaments on the top shelf that I had just walked past. She can also sign to me when she wants to have a drink and when she is "all done" doing something, instead of fussing. I love it!

This morning I was sharing my bowl of granola with her. After giving her another taste, I swear she verbally said "more". Wanting to reinforce the idea, I spooned in more. "More" she said again. I complied. "More." Another spoonful. She responded by vehemently shaking her head no while signing "more". I guess, she had been saying "more" as a statement of what she had received, not asking for more. But I just kept overeagerly stuffing her mouth like a chipmunk. It's a good thing I haven't taught her the sign for "Hellooooooo!" or "Pay attention, dork!"

If anyone is interested in learning how to sign, my two recommended books on the subject are Signing Smart with Babies and Toddlers by Michelle Anthony and Reyna Lindert and Teach Your Tot to Sign by Stacy Thompson. The first one is great for learning how to teach signing. It is also an activity book, but I've never bothered with any of them. The second book is a great signing dictionary. I regularly sit with the later book, signing to myself. So, I probably really do look like a dork. Even my older kids think its fun and learned quite a few animal signs when we went to the zoo last week. And when I ask them to put on their pj's and brush their teeth in sign language I get fewer complaints!