Baby Signs

I finally have some good clear pictures of Caleb making baby signs. Actually (as far as I know) they are real ASL signs. He has not been ahead of the curve verbally, so these signs have really (REALLY) been helpful. Lately he has added a lot of words to his vocabulary, but most of them require translation (and contextual hints - for example ga-ga is dog, but it's also cracker, so sometimes it's not quite clear.)

By contrast, the signs he makes are clear.

This is the first sign he learned - it's "more". He also says "please" (his version is "eezz!") So sometimes he signs more and says "eezz". He also sometimes signs more and says "mo mo".

This one is cracker and it's pretty much exactly right. Initially he signed cracker by tapping his wrist, but he's a little more anatomy saavy now, so he can find his elbow.

He really only knows about 5 signs: more, cracker, hurt, thank you, and food. Thank you is kind of tricky because he very obviously doesn't understand what that means and only does it to imitate me...and I can't make him sign it after I give him something because then his hands are full! He does combine some signs - very often he signs "More food" and sometimes "More cracker".

Some of his little friends (particularly the girls) seem to be able to say words easier than it has come for him. Most of his words are just partial words or repeated sounds (wa-wa for water, etc.), so he's pretty hard to understand. I really like that he can make even these few signs because I can understand him better.