The girls’ first form of higher communication was baby sign language, beginning around 10 months old.
I thought it was simply amazing that they were “telling” me something…and I was able to understand! It seemed like a complex game of charades at times, but we were able to engage in some pretty cool conversations.
And then, along about 15 months, the girls began to say actual words.
They would blurt out things like “Baby!” and “Ball!” sometimes seemingly at random. That felt more like a game of I Spy or Hot and Cold. It might take me a few minutes to figure out if they wanted to play with a ball, if they remembered a ball that Mommy needed to rescue from under the sofa, or if they spied a watermelon (which they at first called a “ball”).
Eventually the girls moved onto two-word phrases, and now they’re stringing several words together.
Just yesterday morning, I sat in the chair where my hubby normally sits. Baby B, slightly alarmed, exclaimed, “Mommy sit down…Daddy chair!” In the absence of most prepositions and conjunctions, I think we may have progressed to playing connect the dots.
I know I’ll blink my eyes and the girls will be speaking in complete sentences, with properly conjugated verbs and everything. And one day I have hopes that we’ll even be able to play Scrabble!
Fast-forwarding a bit to the preteen years, I can’t help but wonder if I’ll have to break out my decoding skills again, though…like when I ask, “How was your day at school?” And I get a curt, “Fine,” in response. I may find myself wishing for some hand signals or something.
Ticker
6 comments:
I love watching my kids' language develop! It is so much fun getting to watch them learn to express their thoughts and wants. It also is helpful. A bit ago, Drew was kind of dragging one day. When I got him up from his nap, he grumbled, "Ears hurt." While I was sad that his ears hurt, it was great to know what was going on inside of him!
Will is at a great age (5yrs) where he expresses every single thought that enters his mind. I know that the day will come when he doesn't want to tell me what he is thinking, so I'm just enjoying it while I can.
The languae game is always a crowd pleaser at our house too. We found one of our girls really likes to sign, and one of them really prefers to talk more. We were a little worried about the signer for a while, but she now signs and says the words now so no problem. Nothing like worrying for no reason. Our girls have gotten really good at leading us where they want now, pointing, and trying to say the word they want. Their favoirte right now is Banana. Even if there are no bananas on the counter, they still point to where they should be as if to say, "Could you buy some bananas please?" My husband has to buy them about every other day now. :) Your brave thinking ahead to teenagers, I'm still just dreaming about potty training. :)
I'm so jealous of your baby signs! It just never took off here but I did give it the college try. I can't wait for words! At 16 months we have word subsititutes as I call them(gog for dog, at for cat, dadden for daddy) and keep track of them, and correcting them, are wearing me out!
I taught my girls just a few signs, which helped immensely. Now that they can talk, that's all they do, nonstop from the time they wake up until bed time. I'm not complaining... most of the time it's pretty cute.
It still amazes me how one day they aren't saying certain words and the next they are. Todd and I have slipped a few times by saying "dang it" in front of Molly when we have dropped something. Well guess what.... anytime Molly drops something she says it. For some reason it sounds so bad coming from a 2 year old. I do not know how they sleep at night with how much their brains are turning. There are so many times I have seen through their eyes their gears turning when I am asking or telling them something. So b
eware of everything that comes out of your mouth. They catch and repeat everything.....not that you didn't already know that.I love stage! It is so fun. The only problem I have is Molly is further along in her speaking skills, so it is hard not to worry that Luke may be behind. Everyone tells me that I can' t compare them. Take care, Andrea
It sure is a fascinating process huh? My two have tackled things so differently from each other (and from their singleton siblings). Both a tracking well but the Minx definitely out-talks Dew Drop! Love the games analogy :)
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