Signs

First off, sorry about the lack of an update last week! I took on some more shifts at work, my mom had just got into town for a four week stay, and I had to have my Tuesday adventure with Cleo in the morning and then go straight to work once we got back from it!

Every day, Cleo seems more like a little girl and less like a baby. I suppose that, technically, that IS what is happening, but it's more like it's becoming more obvious. She claps her hands, she reacts to facial expressions and little games, and is able to make connections between things. The other day, she started crying when I put on my bicycle helmet since she has figured out that helmet = dad leaving for work.

So with her forming these complex connections, I decided to sign us up for a Baby Sign class. Of course, I'm cheap, so I located  a free one out at the Beaverton Library and... well you get what you pay for. The class was really disjointed and chaotic and the teacher of it, while enthusiastic, was more interested in singing songs and being quirky rather than actually making sure parents were learning the signs to the songs.

It did increase my enthusiasm for trying baby sign, though. I've been doing some for a while, but I'm trying to be more consistent about it. And you know what? I think she understands some of  the signs. She grins like a maniac when I do the sign for milk or food. She just doesn't get the concept of a back and forth signing exchange yet. The subtext of our mealtime conversation goes something like this:

Gimme!

Me: Milk?
Cleo: Sure!
Me: Cleo want milk?
C: Uh... yeah. I smiled at you. That means yes. Duuuhh.
Me: Cleo hungry?
C: Look mister, are you gonna give me the milk or not?
Me: Cleo want eat?
C: *sigh* I'm gonna go back to playing with my feet. Don't interrupt me unless you're actually serious about giving me food.
Me: Cleo not hungry?
C: *Ignores dad*

I'm thinking we'll probably skip the other classes for now and just focus on mastering what we've got so far since, as you can tell, I already feel that the kiddo has mastered nonverbal expression of indifference.