Baby Sign of the Day: Drink or Thirsty

The following is the sign for "drink" but we have been using it for "thirsty". I don't know that it really matters. Any thoughts on that? Some signs have more than one meaning, such as the sign for "all done" being synonymous with "all gone". To babies it means the same thing.

In any case, I think it gets the point across. I'm happy that Blueberry loves water. She doesn't drink a lot of it but she likes to drink from a cup, especially Mommy's cup. She makes it clear when she wants a drink, but helping her learn a sign can help others besides her intuitive Mommy understand what she wants.

To sign "drink"/"thirsty" you form a "C" with your hand and point your thumb towards your mouth like the spout of a sippy cup or a straw. I have also seen it performed as just a "C" brought towards your mouth like you are bringing a cup to your mouth.

Babies aren't always precise with their signs so while they are younger you have to watch closely for them while they are still learning. As they get older they become more dextrous and are able to perfect their sign, just as when they start to speak they get better at enunciating as they get older.

Happy Sunday

‎"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and temporary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." ~2 Corinthians 4:16-18

My friend posted this as her status on Facebook today and I needed to hear it.

Baby Sign of the Day: More

To sign "more" you bring your fingertips together in front of you.

Baby Sign of the Day: All Done

We are teaching Blueberry sign language through the Baby Signs program. In order to do this we have to learn the signs too. We are trying to learn one a day to get our vocabulary up. Today's sign is All Done. You bring your hands together with palms down and brush them away from each other like you are clearing off the table. Click the link to see a video of this sign.

When you speak to a baby in sign language you also say the word. Signing helps language development and reduces frustration in babies because they are able to express their needs. Please join us in the Baby Sign of the Day.

Four Wonderful Years

Life rarely plays out the way you planned it, but we really couldn't be happier. In the last year David graduated with his Bachelor's degree and we had our first baby. The degree hasn't produced an awesome new job yet, but I have faith that the Lord is preparing one for David. As for our little Blueberry, she has changed our lives in more ways than we could count, and we wouldn't have it any other way. She blesses us every day without even trying.

We are in a holding pattern right now, waiting for David to find a new job. We feel blessed that he has a job, but he is not using his degree yet. We are in a position to be fairly flexible when he does find one. Hopefully the economy will improve soon. Still, life does not stop and we take one day at a time, making the most of it and cherishing every minute we have together.

It is a time in our lives that we have realized that what matters most is being together and that home is where family is. We can make a home anywhere as long as we are together. Who knows where the next year will take us. It will be exciting to find out.

Blueberry

No, we did not name our daughter "Blueberry". Auntie Tiff nicknamed her "Blueberry Muffin" because of her big blue eyes and we decided we liked it. I'm not a big fan of nicknames, but I do call my husband "honey" and my daughter by many affectionate names, so for the purpose of privacy, she will be hereafter called Blueberry in this blog.

She is nearly seven months old now and she is such a joy in our lives. She greets us every morning with a big smile. Our lives are pretty routine so she knows what to expect throughout the day. She likes standing supported on our laps and being carried around as we do different things around the house. She likes to play with the water from the sprayer when I water the garden and ringing the bell on the front porch. She doesn't care for being on her belly, but will tolerate it when we distract her with a toy.

Blueberry is very good at holding things and will pass toys between her hands and turn them around to look at all sides. She can feed herself teething crackers and likes the munchkin feeders, which we can stuff with all kinds of things. She is eating 3 meals a day of "solids". She is a big fan of peas, yogurt, pears, apples, bananas and prunes. I think she is starting to understand that these things fill her tummy and doesn't fuss to be nursed if we are feeding her solids when she is hungry. She is a light sleeper during the day, but she sleeps 6-8 consecutive hours at night, wakes up to nurse and then returns to sleep for a total of about 10 hours.

She is very attached to Mommy these days. She doesn't like to be away from me. She doesn't like to be held by anyone who is not in her daily life, but I am sure that will change soon, as she becomes more independent. We have a pretty quiet home life, so big family gatherings with lots of loud people make her more clingy, but she is fine as long as I am holding her.

We are starting to teach her Baby Signs and she understands many spoken words. Our pediatrician's nurse commented that she could tell we spoke to her a lot, and we have, since she was born. She babbles in a rhythmic cadence very similar to our speech. She says "Da", "Ga", "Ba", "Wa", "Ma" and will often repeat the same sound several times. She understands "I'm going to change your diaper" and "are you hungry", among other things. She also is starting to sign for "up" when she wants to be picked up.

Right now we are trying to teach her "more", "all done" and "hungry".

Our New Little Princess

Proud Daddy

Little Beauty

Mamma's Most Precious