Another Andrew Bragging Session!

Well it's time for another Andrew bragging session. Well as many of you know I have been teaching Andrew how to sign. I was doing this from the first day we got him to help with the communication, and just a few short months later he was signing back to me. Lately I have been losing track of all the words he knows, and he will sign something and I forget what he is telling me. So the other day I started writing down all of the signs that he knows, and I got up to eighty and I'm still counting. The amazing thing is that Andrew is starting to talk more and more everyday and the words he is learning to say are the words he has learned the signs for. I'm convinced that it is helping him learn to talk quicker now that he can hear clearly after his surgery in October. For all you parents out there I encourage you to teach your babies signs. It gives them a way to communicate and helps cut down the frustration level. Andrew amazes me everyday on what he understands and how he uses his signs to communicate with me. There is a great series of movies out there called Signing Time that are great for teaching parents and children some simple signs. You can get them on line at http://signingtime.com , and I have also found them at my local library. The Baby Signing Time Series is great for the babies to start with. There are also some books that go along with some of the movies and they are also great to look at refresh your memory. I just can't say enough good about teaching signing to your babies.

I do have a disclamer that Andrew doesn't do all his signs exactly right. It is hard for a child his age to hold specific fingers out. That comes later. For now I know what he is saying, and I think he is so smart to not just know the signs but to know what they mean and when to use them.

Andrew also does awesome with knowing where all his body parts are. He is like a sponge and always wants to learn something new. Usually I only have to show him something once or twice and he remembers it.