Colby's First Outing Without Me

Colby's first outing without me went well! My mom and dad wanted to take Colby to Academy Sports, and I really needed to clean the house so I agreed that he could go. He didn't seem to miss me as much as I missed him :(

There is a page in Colby's baby book for first outing without mommy and daddy, so I made mom take pictures.

Colby loves to sing in the car!

Bentley & I had to say goodbye and get lots of kisses. Well I did, Bentley just jumped in because he thought he was going too.

Colby's new signs are;

help, umbrella, yes, kiss, comb my hair, bread, bike, flower, slide, music, and gorilla.

Thank you

Bread

I gave him egg whites and strawberries and he signed "bread" because he is obsessed with cinnamon swirl bread. I have always signed "bread" when I gave it to him but this was the first time that he used it. He does this all the time. He won't produce a certain sign until he thinks it necessary. I wonder how many signs he knows that he is waiting to use when he feels the need.

Airplane

Again
He was telling me to help him up because he wanted to slide again.

Slide

He doesn't sign "slide" correctly yet, it's his approximation.

Car

Please

Help

Colby has about 60 signs and he tries to say everything but he still can't pronounce words very well. I know what he is trying to say but it helps because he signs what he is trying to say. His favorite words to say and the only words that are very clear are bye bye, mama, daddy, up, night night, mum mum (it's a type of cracker) duck, and hi. Everything else he says is a good attempt but not too clear.
Some children start to speak at 12 months and others can't speak well until 3 years old, and that's completely normal. The average 18 month old has 15 words and the average 24 month old has 150 words, so there is a huge language explosion between 18-24 months. But until your child experiences their language explosion then they are helpless and can't communicate their wants and needs. Babies can start signing at 6 months so it can bridge the gap of communication for up to 2 years or more if your child is a late talker. Colby is 14 months old and can communicate anything he wants and doesn't have to get frustrated in the process. It's an awesome gift to give your child! If he could only communicate with his spoken vocabulary, we would be missing out on these wonderful experiences and learning opportunities.

I love when Colby signs "help" but it's even cuter when he tries to help me. If I'm putting clothes in the dryer he will sign "help" and then throw the clothes in for me. If I'm wiping down his high chair he will sign "help" and grab a rag and actually wipe off the foot rest on the highchair. He also does it when I'm unloading the dishwasher. I have to film it because it is so funny. He hands me one dish at a time, even one utensil at a time. Yes, it takes a really long time and I'm sure he will break something soon, but he loves to help and it's a good trait to have so I let him. My little man is going to be a gentleman. I will have to let him read this when he becomes a teenager and doesn't won't to help around the house, hehe!

It's really not good to ask your child to sign on demand. Children need to sign in the right context or situation. I ask Colby to sign sometimes so I can film and share it with others but it's not recommended to ask your child to perform signs for people. As you can tell he doesn't like to sign when I ask him to and doesn't do well when he sees the camera either. So, I got him signing a few but he doesn't like to perform.

Sladen Shack turned 1 !

Sladen wasn't so sure about his new four-wheeler so Colby was helping him out! I told you he likes to help : )




He was so MAD when mommy took his cake away, but she didn't won't her baby to get a tummy ache.


YUM YUM!!

Happy 1st Birthday Sladen!