Colby Read His First Words!

This has definitely been a shocking day to say the least! Colby woke up this morning and we went to potty. He has a basket of flashcards by the potty that keep him entertained while trying to do his business. He loves for me to hold up the card and he shows me the sign. The airplane flash card was stuck under the potty and the only thing Colby could see was the word "airplane". He looked at me and signed "airplane". I almost flipped out but I didn't won't to get too excited if it was just a coincidence. I held the card up and covered the picture with my hand and asked Colby what the word was, and he signed "airplane". At this point I was freaking out! I grabbed another flashcard and covered up the picture and he signed "fan", he was correct. I was so overwhelmed with excitement that I had tears in my eyes. I called Chris, Mom, Dad, and my three bestfriends at 7:00 o'clock in the morning to tell them that my 14 month old can read words. He also read ice cream and baby. I'm not bragging that Colby is a little genius by any means, it's just the results of signing. We spend our days talking, signing, reading books, singing songs, drawing, looking at pictures, and playing. All these activities create a print rich environment that builds literacy skills. He has learned to associate a word to a particular picture. Think about how much easier that is than learning every sound of every letter and then trying to sound out a word, which doesn't work half of the time because our language is bizarre ( ex. night, phone, bar). You have to try to explain to a child that you can't sound out most words because the -gh might be silent or the -ph sounds like an F or you can't hear the -a sound because it has a controlling r. Seriously, and we wonder why kids get so confused at 5 years old.




A baby’s brain thrives on stimulation and develops at a phenomenal pace…nearly 90% during the first five years of life! The best and easiest time to learn a language is during the infant and toddler years, when the brain is creating thousands of synapses every second – allowing a child to learn both the written word and spoken word simultaneously, and with much more ease. Dr. Titzer (creator of Your Baby Can Read) says the current practice of starting to teach reading skills in school is too late and children benefit greatly from getting a much earlier start since a child basically has only one natural window for learning language -- from about birth to about age four. During this period it is easier for a child to learn any type of language including spoken, receptive, foreign and written language. The earlier the child is taught to read the better they will read and the more likely they will enjoy it. Studies prove that the earlier a child learns to read, the better they perform in school and later in life. Early readers have more self-esteem and are more likely to stay in school. Meanwhile, a national panel of reading specialists and educators determined that most of the nation’s reading problems could be eliminated if children began reading earlier.



Can Colby read a book? No. Can he read a lot of words? No. Colby is just using his schema and experiences to become an emergent reader and it's a great start!

I will try to film him tomorrow reading his words so I can post it soon.




Sign Class

I have mentioned Reagan in a previous blog so I had to film her because she is such a doll. She is two and has a very broad vocabulary, not to mention unbelievable social skills . Her mother started signing to her at 6 months and still continues today. She started to sign the alphabet, but I think she got nervous when she saw my camera. Maybe she will sign more for me next week. She is so funny to listen to and to watch in class. Of course, my wild child is in the background closing the door on people and trying to dump the garbage can over.

Colby started signing "help" and it can be very helpful in situations. If he can't do something and needs my help then he can communicate that to me. Today he was trying to reach something and he couldn't get it so he signed "help". It's probably one of my favorite signs (second to I love you), it's just so sweet!

I am loving the verbal stage that he is transitioning into. It is so funny how he just all of the sudden throws a new word at us from nowhere. Last night Chris and I told him "night night "and he shouted back to us," night night!" Everyday is interesting to see what he might say.

My cousin Christi had her precious little baby girl! Ashlee Kate is so beautiful and has the best big brother ever! Bryce said Ashley Kate was cute, she could sleep in the attic, and he loves her a little bit, hehe.

Bryce & Mommy

Ashlee Kate

Spoiled Spoiled Spoiled!

Spoiled is an understatement when your the first grandchild on both sides. I previously wrote in a blog that Colby needed a picnic table because we eat lunch outside everyday and his JoJo read the blog and had one delivered Friday. I thought about writing in the next blog that Colby needed a new car, hehe! It's the cutest little table and Colby loves it! Chris put it together while Colby was napping and he was so excited when he woke up! He enjoyed his milk and then created his first piece of art! Thanks so much JoJo & Coach!

Colby's first artwork

First time Colby saw the picnic table

Daddy putting it together

Saturday Paw & Gammy decided that Colby needed a trip to Toysrus to get a Kangaroo Climber and an ABC play mat. He also picked out a stretchy worm and was completely amused by it. We went to eat afterwards and he would not let go of it.

We took him home and put him down for a nap. While he was sleeping we put together his kangaroo climber and again he woke up to a great surprise! Now you know why he is such a good sleeper, he gets a surprise every time he wakes up, hehe!

Colby Signing

Colby has started to sign a few letters. Chris and I sign the alphabet to Colby every night and he moves his little fingers in an attempt to sign with us. Signing letters require fine motor skills so most children can't sign the entire alphabet until 2 or older. It's a great way to enhance fine motor skills especially for boys because they are usually a little behind in this department. This will help toddlers and preschoolers with tying shoes, buttons, using scissors, writing, etc.

We were outside and Colby kept signing "outside". I told him we were already outside and he signed " dog outside". He was telling me that Bentley was at the back door and wanted to come outside. I let Bentley out and Colby started to clap his hands. He was proud that he could help Bentley I guess. It was Colby's first time to string two signs together for a mini sentence.

We call my sister KK and this weekend she came over to visit and he signed "KK" when he saw her. He also signs "O" when he wants cheerios. Signing is such a great tool for learning letters easily, spelling proficiency, and building connections to literacy. Maybe it's just me since I teach children to read, but I think it's an amazing stepping stone that we can give children. The hardest part of teaching was finding a way to help the struggling readers. It literally would break my heart because it was so frustrating for certain children, and I just wanted to do everything possible for them so they wouldn't have to struggle and get so upset. Reagan is a 2 year old in our sign class and she signs the alphabet, finger spells words, and can pick out certain words in sentences, and it came naturally through signing. I just wonder about all the struggling readers that could be prevented. There are three types of learners: visual (seeing it), auditory (hearing it), and kinesthetic (doing it). Hearing a word, seeing a word, and signing a word (letters) makes it easier to comprehend.

Good Morning America did a segment last week on signing increasing vocabulary. Here is a clip from the show.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=6901286&page=1

They also posted this article about baby sign language boosting IQ

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/TurningPoints/story?id=521213&page=1

"Cheerios"

"Cheese"

"milk"

"up"

Colby turned 14 months old on Feb 19.

Things he loves at 14 months old!

1. Shrimp shrimp and more shrimp

2. Avocado

3. Taking his diaper off and running around in his birthday suit

4. Eating out of a bowl and saying bowl

5. The word Bye Bye

6. Birds

7. Airplanes

8. Bicycle

9. Bell on the Bicycle

10. Picking up things he knows he's not suppose to get and then bringing it to me so he can say thank you

11. Story time at the library

12. A wok top

13. Stretchy worm toy

14. Sliding

15. Books

16. Dancing

17. Signing

18. Showing off his boo boo ( a tiny scratch on his knee)

19. Belly buttons

20. Watching the neighborhood kids play

21. Stealing Bentley's toys and running for dear life

22.Being outside ALL DAY!

23. Still putting everything in his mouth

24. Trying to talk

In the last two weeks he has really been trying to talk. He has said some more difficult words such as; no touch, purple, all done, and bowl

25. Singing

he mumbles during the song and thinks he is saying the words

26. Signing to songs

27. Still obsessed with passy and binky (lovey)

28. Making animal sounds

29. Tape measure

30. Sleep ritual

Colby gets excited when it's time to go to sleep because he loves our sleep ritual.

He gets his passy, blankie, and binky and then picks out a book to read. Then he climbs into my lap in our big, comfortable chair and is giggling because he is ready for story time. When we finish the book it's time to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and he really thinks he is singing every word perfect. Next, I lay him down and sign "I Love You & sweet dreams" and he signs "love" back. He lays there smiling at me and follows me with his eyes as I leave the room and he falls asleep.

His molars are now completely in, so now he has 12 teeth. His hair is dirty blond but starting to get a little red tint and he has yet to need a hair cut. His eyes are mainly green with a touch of blue. His personality is very silly and he thinks everything is funny. If he can't do something or he doesn't get what he wants, he has a temper but it only lasts for a few seconds and he is over it. His temper consist of stomping his feet in place really fast, I try hard not to laugh! This age is soooo much fun and our days are full of laughter!

14 month routine

We tried to transition to one nap and Colby still wasn't ready yet so our day usually looks like this:

7:00 wake up

7:30 Breakfast

Play Time

9:30-11:30 Nap

12:00 lunch

Playtime

2:30-4:00 Nap

Snack time

Playtime

6:00 Dinner

6:30 Bath

7:00 Bedtime

Colby's Buddy Came to Play

Conner Neely is 20 months old and him and Colby just started interacting with one another. They usually would passive play and ignore one another. It's neat to see them play together now that they are getting older. Colby hasn't learned to share and he thinks he can just take everything away from Conner. Conner would pick up a toy and Colby was there in a split second to take it away. I kept telling him no, but he insisted on taking everything away from Conner. Conner goes to daycare so he has learned survival of the fittest. When Colby took his toys away he would pinch his cheeks, so Colby started to learn real quick to find another toy. We had to keep a close eye on Mr. Stingy & Mr. Pincher.

This is a short video of them playing! Conner says "I Love You" in the funniest way! We try to make them love each other! As you can see Conner will be getting a little brother in just a couple of weeks. We can't wait for Cooper to arrive or as Conner would say, we can't wait for Popper to arrive!

Babies Coming Soon!

Sunday after church we went to see cousin Bryce and soon to arrive, Kate Ashley. Kate Ashley will grace our presence on Feb 23, and we are so excited! The nursery has been perfected and only needs a baby to complete it!





Sunday night we went to Louie & Carrie's house to help get baby Trace's nursery painted. Colby was a big help!



Colby Signing


Colby is getting to the point where he can see a sign once or twice and then he learns it. He has over 40 signs right now and adds more everyday. His favorite sign by far is "thank you". He does it all the time. We went to story time at the Pearl library today and he told her "thank you" after every song and book. The video below is Colby kissing daddy and then telling him "thank you". At the beginning of the video he is signing "all gone" because I just took his milk away.

Time Out

I mentioned in a previous blog that I was going to start time out because I thought Colby understood the concept. I told Colby twice not to touch something and I told him if he did it again he was going to time out. He smiled and touched it again so he went to time out in his bed. He stayed there for one minute and when I went back in his room to get him he signed "sorry". With that being said, there is no doubt in my mind that he understands what he did and that there will be consequences for disobeying! Time out in his bed does not in anyway make him dislike his bed. He clearly knows the difference between time out and bedtime. Through signing with Colby I have learned that babies are so much smarter than we give them credit for.

I have decided that Colby still isn't quite ready for 1 nap. I understand now why sleep experts say that more sleep produces better sleep. That's why you shouldn't keep a baby up later and think he will sleep through the night because the earlier he goes to bed the better he sleeps and the better he sleeps the longer he sleeps (overtired babies can't soothe themselves to sleep and have a difficult time transitioning into a deep sleep). I have realized that less sleep effects nap time also. If he takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap he sleeps for almost two hours for each nap, but if he only takes one afternoon nap he sleeps for less than 2 hours and he seems really restless and wakes up cranky. Story time worked out well today because it was at 9:30 so we came home at 10:30 and took a nap. Colby slept today from 10:45-12:45 and woke up a happy camper. It completly threw off our lunch scedule (sorry I'm OCD about routine) and he didn't won't to take an afternoon nap because it was so late. So, I guess one nap works if it's during the middle of the day and it's at least 2 hours. I guess that's why it's called a transition because it takes time. I will have to set aside my scedule tendencies for the time being and let it work itself out.

I tried to capture Colby signing but it's hard to get the motion in clear shots.

He told me he wanted his pacifier and then he told me he was ready to go to
"Sleep"

"Pacifier"


Outside (2nd motion)

(1st motion)

"Again" He was riding horsey on mommy's lap and when I would stop he would sign "again".

Colby signs "good morning" when he gets up and when I sign "I Love You" he signs "love" back to me. A few of his new signs are again, pacifier, sorry, giraffe, up, and animals.

Potty

Colby's regression stage is really improving. He is back to sitting on the potty with no problem. He TT's in the potty all day and poops in the potty sometimes. Yesterday he pooped in the potty and it was a lot so I thought he was done. We flushed it and he ran out of the bathroom and into the kitchen before I put another diaper on him . I walked into the kitchen and saw him squatting to poop. He dropped one more little terd on the floor so I picked him up really quick and put him back on the potty to finish. When we were all done I went back to the kitchen to clean up the mess and found out Bentley cleaned it up for me! Yep, my dog likes to eat poop, pretty disgusting huh? Instead of Colby signing "potty" before he has to go, he waits until he has already pooped and then signs "potty and change".

A lady in my baby sign class also did the early potty training and she said her son went through the same phase so hopefully it's something that will be short lived. Between 8-12months he would only poop in his diaper 2-3 times a month and now it's reversed.

Cloth diapers are suppose to prevent diaper rash so Colby has never had one until the other day. I assume he got a rash because his little booty is not use to having poop smeared all over it. My dryer was also broke so he had to wear disposable diapers for three days, so that could have contributed to the problem. His little booty was so red and he screamed when I tried to put medicine on it, I felt so bad for him. I had some desitin creamy from a baby shower but it was not working. A friend of mine recommended desitin original and it was gone within hours. She brought to my attention the desitin creamy only has 10% zinc oxide and desitin original has 40%. No more diaper rash! Thanks, Angie!

Colby signing "all gone" & "thank you"

How do I get dressed with a 13 month old?

I am a very structured and routine type of person so this is madness in my agenda! Everyday Colby would sleep from 10:00-11:30, so I always took a shower during his morning nap. I really enjoy taking him to story time and sing and sign class so he misses his morning nap twice a week! He does well either way. If I lay him down in the morning he will go to sleep but if I don't then he makes it until 1:00 just fine. The problem is trying to get dressed with a 13 month old demolishing my bathroom! He manages to pull out all the dirty clothes, throw things in the bathtub (which usually breaks) and cuts the water on. He almost threw my straightener in but I caught him just in time. He pulls everything out of the drawers and rearranges my closet. Chris put latches on all the cabinets in the kitchen so I guess this weekend we will do the same in the bathroom. Who would figure a little 13 month could be so destructive! I can't do anything but laugh when he looks up at me laughing while tangled up in my hairdryer and curling iron cords, hehe! I know moms all over the world get dressed everyday with a wild child so please pass on any tricks you have up your sleeve.
Before Colby
After Colby

He broke the brush and the handle off the mirror

Colby had a bath time play date!

Bentley is obsessed with Colby's rubber ducky and he barks at Colby to throw it . Colby would not throw the ducky out of the bathtub so Bentley jumped right in and got it. Colby thought he was crazy, but so funny!

It Could Always Be Worse!

I don't believe in luck but if I did I would think we have had the worst appliance luck ever!!!

About 8 months ago our dryer broke and we had Sears come out and fix it for the cost of $250. 2 months ago the washing machine broke and we called an appliance repair man. The problem was the pump went out because a baby sock got stuck in it. Warning, put your baby socks in a lingerie bag because he said that's what keeps him in business. It happens so much that he keeps lingerie bags in his truck to sell after he replaces your pump. I wish someone would have told me that before it cost me $150, but now I know. Oh, just wait it gets even better! Last month our oven quit working so we called him back (he likes us). It took a month for the part to come in because it was on back order, I was getting pretty creative with ideas for stove top dinners. He came yesterday to put the part on, and I was astonished to found out the total cost was $475. I asked how much did the the entire oven cost if a part was that much money and to my surprise he said around $2,000. I must be completely clueless, but I had no idea that ovens were that expensive (regardless if it's stainless steel or not, RIDICULOUS!) We are living on one income right now so $475 dollars was very heart breaking for me! Wait, it still gets better. After the repair man left, I went to put the clothes in the dryer and the dryer would not work. I thought to myself, you have got to be kidding! I called my mom so upset and she said everything would be okay and it could always be worse. Then, I thought back to what the repair man told me. He said that his 6 month old nephew had gotten into some medication and swallowed a pill. The medication collapsed his lungs and he was in ICU. So, I counted my blessings and got over myself! Philippians 2:14 also came to my mind, in everything you do stay away from complaining and arguing. My parents felt so bad for us that they purchased us a new dryer! They just went to pick it up but it started to rain, so it doesn't look like we will get it today. At this point it's just comical!

Videos of Colby Signing

When babies start to sign they will approximate signs but you will definitely know what sign they are trying to tell you. The video below is Colby signing at 11 months. This is my instructors 8 month old signing "more" but Colby can't bend his fingers like that so you will see him in the video hitting his palms together for an approximation of "more". Now he bends his fingers on one hand and taps it against his open palm, so he is progressing to the correct sign. Don't ever correct a sign, just say great job while saying and signing the correct sign. They will get it on their own time and ability.

Ella 8 months

Colby 11 months

The sign for "dog" his slapping the thigh. Colby slaps his thigh sometimes but he usually slaps his tummy instead, I guess it's easier for him. Every time we go outside he loves to tell us that he hears the neighbors dog barking.

Colby 13 months

Colby Finished My Sentence

I thought Colby was back to pooping in the potty but there are still some mishaps. The weather was perfect so we played outside all day. We were kicking the ball and the wind blew a poopy smell in my direction. I said, "Colby did you poo poo?" and he signed "change". I took him inside and as I was saying you don't poo poo in your diaper, he signed "inside potty". I started to crack up because he finished my sentence and I realized he knows exactly where to potty, he just preferred to stay outside and poop on himself.


Last night Colby slept from 7:00-8:00 and then he napped this morning from 10:30-1:30 so I thought he might could go without an afternoon nap and could transition into 1 nap a day. He did great without 2 naps and went to bed right at 7:00. Tomorrow may be totally different but it worked out well today! I think it will be so much easier planning around 1 nap instead of two. Also, we can start attending story time at the Florence Library.



We had so much fun playing outside, we didn't even come in for lunch. I enjoyed eating outside because it was less mess to clean up!

Colby loves the doorbell!

Our little picnic outside :)

I need to get a toddler picnic table so he can sit!

Colby eats like a grown man. I use to be concerned but the doctor told me not to worry about it and let him eat as much as he wants. I'm not complaining because I'm glad I don't have to worry about him not eating enough. He weighs a little over 25 lbs, which isn't that high for his age so I guess he has a fast metabolism!

For example, for dinner tonight he ate

1 avocado

a bowl of Jambalaya

8-10 small shrimp

squash

broccoli

1/2 cup of cantaloupe

and would have eaten more if we didn't mention bath time, which he loves!

Colby continues to add signs everyday. It's so interesting because he waits to reveal a new sign when he thinks it's important. We were walking into church Sunday and he heard a bird chirp so he pointed up and signed "bird" for the first time. It makes me feel great that I know what he is thinking about at times. We were blowing bubbles and the wind kept blowing the bubbles away so I said, "uh-o where did the bubbles go?" He looked at me laughing and signed "wind".

I am finally an instructor with sign2me and I will be starting classes soon!

Colby has close to 40 signs in his vocabulary and the average 13 month old can only speak an average of 5 words so you can see how much signing can help your baby communicate with you!

Colby just started saying a few more words

momma

daddy

gammy

paw

duck

no

bowl

poo poo

more

hi

byebye

As you can see by his spoken words that communication would be limited and we would not understand each other like we are able to do through signs (research says this is the reason why signing babies have a closer bond with their parents). Thank God he can sign because he has a hot temper, and I think he would have tantrums often if he couldn't sign to tell me what his wants and needs are.

The Stomach Bug Madness!

We thought Colby was over the virus after vomiting Sunday morning but it lingered around. He became very clingy and whiny right before bedtime and I could tell he didn't feel well. The next morning when he woke up I went in his bedroom to find him covered in vomit. He had thrown up several times through the night and just went right back to sleep. I don't know if he is so tired and doesn't fully wake up enough to cry out for help or if he just doesn't care about laying in vomit. I know, it's crazy! This virus was out of control. Conner gave it to Ryan and Angie, which is 7 months pregnant. Colby gave it to Chris and a child that I tutor, which gave it to her family. The following Monday at Conner's daycare 14 children went home with the virus. I'm still not sure how in the world I didn't get it! It took several days for Colby to get back to normal. Several days later he still acted like something was hurting so I called the doctor and the nurse that it's normal for his stomach to cramp for several days. I think that Colby associated the stomach pains with the potty because he would scream if I even walked into the bathroom and he has never cried about using the potty. So, i didn't take him at all for several days and i was so afraid he would regress tremendously. The two days before he got sick, he went all day with no accidents (except nap time) and now it's like we took 20 steps backwards. He just started back sitting on the potty today and has gone TT 4 times but still refuses to poop in the potty. I must admit that after not cleaning poop for so long, it stinks to have to do it again (especially with cloth diapers)! Early potty training experts say that if you start between 7-9 months, they should be completely potty trained between 15-19 months (even nighttime) so I'm guessing that Colby is going to be on the late end of that spectrum. If he isn't potty trained for several more months that's completely okay with me. I didn't early potty train so it would be convenient for me I did it so it would be a natural thing for Colby and he would never be afraid to potty and to eliminate bed wetting problems when he is older. I read that early potty training greatly reduces the chance of bed wetting and since Chris and I both were bed wetters, I had to save Colby hehe!


Colby started feeling better towards the weekend so Coach and JoJo came to visit. We went to eat lunch and then came back home to enjoy the nice weather. It was just cool enough to enjoy some hot tea and watch Colby play outside.

Baby Sign

We were walking down the road and a car passed and Colby looked up at me and signed "car". I was able to tell him yes that is a car. If he didn't sign there would be no way for him to ask me if that was a car.

He also signed "dog" when he saw a picture of a kangaroo and I told him no, it's a kangaroo. Babies that sign score an average of 10-12 points higher on IQ tests ( at age 6) than non-signing babies because they learned so much information and vocabulary so early.

When he was sick he signed "sleep" (it wasn't nap time) so I put him in the bed and he went right to sleep.

His favorite new sign is "thank you". Every time he gives us a kiss, we always say thank you so now he gives a kiss and then he signs thank you. It is the cutest thing ever!

Colby's New Signs

apple

please

thank you

car

cold
change

Sign Class

There are 2 two-year olds in this class and they can both sign the alphabet and have started to finger spell words, it bridges the gap to reading.

I have heard several people say, "I just don't have the time to teach my baby sign language."

It doesn't take any extra time of your day. You just sign when you say the word, that's it! Your baby will pick up on the sign and the word quickly because when they see the movement of your hand while you say the word they pay closer attention. No, you don't make your baby study, it's just a natural thing. No, you don't have to go to class. Class is just really fun and it's great interaction for children. It's full of dancing, playing instruments, singing, signing, and just having fun! You will learn tips on helping your baby sign.

I am almost ready to begin teaching classes so I talked to my instructor today about getting started. She said the hardest part she has had to deal with in Mississippi was the lack of knowledge. She said she was so surprised because everywhere else she has been, people are educated about it and here she has to explain why you would teach your baby sign language.

She was shocked that her pediatrician asked if it delays language because you would think that a doctor would be a little more informed. She proceeded to explain that babies who sign are usually 6 months-1year more advanced in language skills. Once they learn to speak the word they usually drop the sign, just like they quit crawling when they learn to walk. Many people encourage their baby to continue to sign because it's ASL and it's the third most used language in the world so it can be beneficial in life.

She wasn't being rude, she is the sweetest thing ever, she was just trying to explain the best way possible without putting down Mississippi. We all know that we are usually behind on things so there is no reason to take offense and it's sad but true that a small percentage of our adults read for pleasure. It's hard to learn about new things if you don't read.

It's so important for children to see their parents reading for pleasure because then it becomes important to them too! Share the gift of reading with your children, they will always imitate you!