Cleanup Time

Recently I decided it would be a good idea to add clean-up to our evening routine. I figured that as a cluttered person myself, it could only be good for me to get into a routine of straightening up every night while role modeling for dd. Before implimenting my plan, I was telling dd that I had to clean up from lunch. I broke into John Lennon's song "Clean-up time, clean-up, clean-up." Before long dd was singing it too! It got quickly to the point that every time I said I needed to clean up, she would chime "clean-up, clean-up." DD and I went rummaging in the basement and found my old JL CD. Twice a day since then (after lunch and each evening) we put the song on, and sing while we straighten. (Just me cleaning at lunch time) I am impressed with how willing she has been to add the extra task. I think it's all in making it a family event, and making it fun. Just as with any part of a routine, I imagine if we do this long enough (it will take discipline, to be sure) it will feel odd to leave it out. (I'm hoping?)

"Dere!"

I'm still on this communication thing. It blows my mind. My thought this morning: I guess if all you hear is swahili, you will learn to communicate in swahili. DD copies what I say. Right down to my grunts and sighs. It amuses me no end when we are looking for something and she'll say, "Hmm..." She says, "There!" when she accomplishes something. And sometimes, "I did it," as I'm always saying "You did it!" Ever since she was tiny I have periodically said "(dd) where aaaare you?" Now at 21 months, it's a game she initiates every day. She will cover her eyes and say "Mama, eyes, ahhh you?" Or her nose. Or her babydoll, or a piece of hotdog. Etc. And it goes the other way too. She makes this happy noise where she breathes in a certain pattern while making a noise. Out-in-out. Out-in-out. So both her Papa and I have picked it up. She mimics behaviors too. One day we were outside and I picked a weed, tossed it aside, and said "Yuck!" Now she will often grab at weeds and do the same thing, complete with the "Yuck!"

A Sign of the Times

A couple of months ago, dd was sitting on my lap and I was sitting in my desk chair. She kept pointing to my desk at something (I forget now what), indicating that she wanted it. I kept telling her that it wasn't something that was safe for her to play with. After a few rounds of this, she looked at me and with a look of desperation she made the sign for "book." OH! Said I. The thing I didn't want her to play with was sitting on top of one of HER books. More recently we were visiting at dear hubby's mother's house where his stepsister and family were staying for a few days. DD entertained them all by showing them all the signs she knows. It seems that stepsis's kids learn sign-language at school, and are made to use certain signs to communicate with the teacher. While dd is quite shy when it comes to talking in front of people she doesn't know well, she showed no hesitation with communicating with signs! Many months ago her grandmother gave her a Baby Einstein video that contains some sign language instruction. She enjoyed it so much that her grandmother bought her several "Signing Times" videos - videos created for and with children to teach hearing children sign-language. DD loves to learn the signs. Her favorite and most used sign at the moment is "more." One of the benefits of teaching a young child sign-language, according to the folks who created "Signing Times", is that is "virtually eliminates" the "terrible twos", as it gives a child the ability to express herself when words don't do the trick. I love that she has so much fun with it - we do too! Apparently there is a television series now, which, unfortunately, won't get to the east coast until January. Who knows where this will lead us. I have been hoping to find a way to volunteer with dd...perhaps we could do something which involves signing in some way. Hm.