Speaking in Hands

When I stayed at home with the boy, every time I fed him, I showed him the sign language for "eat" and "more." He stared, somewhat blankly, with little sign of comprehension beyond, "The time you take to make those silly gestures is time you're not spooning food into my mouth."

I was patient, though, and kept it up. Still, he never really signed much with me, other than perhaps accidentally. Those baby hands sometimes just go in random directions.

He's been home with M-N for just over a month, if that, and now he's signing constantly. He mastered "more," but now it means "want." He also picked up "bathtime," "sleepy," "mom," "dad," and "The Macarena."

Over the weekend, he signed a complete sentence. He said, "It's time for my bath and then sleep." Ok, so I added some articles, but he showed the logical flow.

I could take credit for laying the foundation of his signing, but M-N is really the pioneer. I think she's moved on and is focusing on ancient Mayan dialects, so he can watch Mel Gibson's new movie and pick up the anti-Semitic slurs.