I want to understand what you're saying, really I do!

This has to be a common thought to parents around the globe as their motormouth toddler becomes confident in their speech and makes requests left and right. Not to mention they narrate all the things they see and hear and ask questions all day long... all the road map to learning language!

My well trained "mommy ear" catches about 97% (that is a crude estimate, no true calculations can be accounted for) of what my children ask for verbally. Kyle is 2 1/2, Amberly just about 4. But they both stump me probably once a day. The other day was particularly frustrating for Kyle as he wanted a snack and he wanted a specific snack. The words he was using sounded familiar but I was not recalling what it was. Trying to be especially patient because he was repeating himself with great earnest, I told him I wanted to give him the item but I was having a hard time understanding his words. I asked if he had a sign for it and he just stared back. Clearly he didn't have a sign for said item. After a few minutes I decided to just go through the list of his favorites, even the ones we didn't have in stock so at least I'd know what the heck he was asking for when I landed on the item.

This whole thing felt like 10-15 minutes just because it was so labor intensive, but maybe it was closer to 5 minutes, probably even less than that!

So, what did the poor boy want you ask? A cereal bar! I've shown him the sign for "cereal" and he can say and sign that now so I'll know what he's after. At least the search will be narrowed down and only take one minute to determine if he is asking for cereal versus a cereal bar!

Got a story like this of your own? Share it by emailing me at sign4baby@gmail.com

Joann Woolley is owner and instructor of Sign4Baby in San Diego teaching parents how to communicate with their pre-verbal baby using American Sign Language. With her in depth knowledge of ASL as her first language she takes you beyond just the basics in signing, also filling your parenting tool belt with parenting tips and tricks coupled with signing as a great boundary teaching tool for toddlers. Want to know which signs most parents start with but gets them stuck in the mud? I'll send you that hundred dollar tip for FREE.

Great Summer Afternoon Healthy Treat

I love ice cream and if it were not sinful to the hips I'd indulge daily! This afternoon I created a yummy snack for me and the kids that satisfies the cold and sweet factor.
1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese
** 2 Tbsp of honey
8 medium strawberries, sliced or diced
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Combine all in a bowl and allow toddler/preschooler to help you mix... they will delight in the changing color of the cottage cheese to a blue/purple. I like the frozen blueberries especially for the coldness to transcend to the other ingredients. Be sure to use ripe strawberries if you do not want that tartness that can come from an unripened strawberry. Enjoy!

** do not feed honey to a baby younger than 12mo

Use signing in your preparation of snacks as your hungry little one appears to not be able to get his hands on food fast enough. What to sign?
EAT/FOOD
HUNGRY
SRAWBERRY
BERRY
STIR
HELP
WAIT
YUMMY

MORE SIGNING TIPS:
Incorporate signing in fun activities and in your routines so your baby/toddler will catch on quickly.
Continue signing with your preschooler to help them with reading skills!

Want to learn more? Sign up for classes at www.sign4baby.com

Baby Babble

Just the phrase will put a smile on someone's face. There is a good feeling that comes over us when we think about the sounds beginning to form in those early months of life. Did Mother Nature happen to create the cutest sound to come "from the mouths of babes," if I can borrow that phrase, or was the intention for us to interact with our babies more? It is not by accident I tell ya. Same as it is not an accident that newborns see best what is between 6-12 inches from their face and that is the distance a baby's head lies as he/she nurses at the breast. It is an important developmental acheivement for babies to babble and practice newfound consonant sounds. Practice makes perfect, so the sound is repetitive in nature. Just about the time this emerges is when you can notice object permanence beginning to emerge. (I say beginning to emerge because it is not as if one day they don't have it and the next day they do, it is concept that slowly builds up, same as crawling and walking). I have a theory there is no accident there either. As they begin to understand that things exist that are not readily in front of them, they begin to be frustrated with the wanting of the item and the lack of ability to retrieve it. Worse yet, no way to tell someone what it is they want. That is until the practice of using sign language with babies came along. I'm seeing all of this click together so much more easily with Owen, being my third baby. Connecting the dots in being able to understand how each milestone has significant relevance has been a fun ride.

Owen is, as you may have guessed, babbling up a storm these last few days. It seemed to all start at the pool on Sunday when he was returned to my arms he looked right at me and exclaimed "ya-ya!" I had such excitement about his new sound that he just kept motoring on and on, even waking up last night to practice his diction. It was so cute, if I wasn't so tired I would have grabbed a video camera to capture it. But as I like to remember my husband once telling me, some moments just have to be enjoyed to the fullest in the present and stored in your heart and your memory.

Amberly's latest thing is "Mommy, I can help you with that." Golden. Just golden. What mommy doesn't want to hear that from their 3 1/2 year old? Most of me believes she has a great sense of empathy because of her ability to sign as an infant and thus having more of her needs met more readily. As a high needs baby, signing was a relief to avoid meltdowns.

Kyle is busy mimicking everything he sees and hears, that's good and not so good! What's nice is I can easily ask him to show me a sign he hasn't used in awhile and remind him we are teaching Owen to sign and he can help me with that. Plus he sings to his baby brother... something he's seen big sis do to calm him down.

Having three kids in the span of 3 1/2 years is nothing short of challenging, and nothing short of precious!