lights and bears

Apparently, when babies begin to sign, they use the same sign for many objects, just like early talkers say the same word for different things. The world, according to Elijah, is full of lights and bears. He signs "bear" for many animals in his books, and also when he is pleased with himself. He signs "light" for things around the house (like a small butterfly tile in our bathroom). All considering, this is not a bad world to live in, as long as the bears are friendly. Could be much worse.

garfield park

Elijah and I joined our friends Katie and Nathan for an outing at the Garfield Park Conservatory a couple of days ago. Until then I had not known that it can be so relaxing taking a one year old on a field trip. The place was pretty much dead at the time of the week and day when we went, so we had an entire section of the park to ourselves most of the time, with an occasional person walking by about every 20 minutes or so. We hung out at the children's room of the conservatory. The "climate" was just right: warm enough to be comfortable, but not as humid as the rain forest room. They have a little enclosure for the really little ones (like Elijah and Nathan) to play in safely. So for two hours we just sat on the cushions under some tropical plant and chatted, while the boys explored the bright colors, each other, and each other's toys.

baby sign language

We started teaching Elijah sign language when he was about 10 months old. It took a number of inconsistent attempts off and on to really get going and to figure out what initial signs we wanted to pursue. After about two months he started signing "more", but that was his only sign for a while. However, in the last week or so, other signs became more and more clear, and now we also have "all done", "bear", and "light" :) (As in "And God said, 'Let there be light'", not as in "of little weight"). I think he is also working on "music" and "dog".

"More" often doubles for "eat" or just simply "I want". Sometimes Elijah will actually point to the thing he wants, and then sign "more". But he only signs "more" in the context of food, because that's the only time we've been using the sign with him. I am now afraid to use it in other contexts so as not to confuse him, but I guess sooner or later I'll have to do it.

It's been great to have the "all done" sign added to his "vocabulary". At meal times he makes unhappy noises while waiting for his food, and then when he is full and wants down. But it's not always easy to know what he means somewhere in the transition from being hungry to being full. Does he want more clementines, does he want some cheese, or is he finished? Now that we have two signs to help us, all we need to do is ask, "Do you want more, or are you all done?" And he "tells" us exactly what he wants! And it's much more fun to do a sign with a smile than to grunt and scream!

When I noticed that Elijah was fascinated by lights, I started to use the sign with him each time I turned the lights on or off. Yesterday was the first day that he'd been unmistakably signing "light". First he looked at the light in the bedroom (that was on) and signed it, then he looked at a light (that was off) in the living room, and signed it again. I turned it on for him. Then all day whenever the kitchen light was on, he'd look at it once in a while, and sign "light". I think at this point the sign means "I see light," but I am hoping that in the near future it can evolve into "I want lights on."

I've sometimes wondered what was going on in his head, but now I don't have to. :) It is really a lot of fun to get a sneak peak into what my baby is thinking throughout the day.

P.S. I know you'd love to see a video or at least a picture of this, but it's hard to be taking shots when you are in the middle of a conversation with your child!

eyebrows game

One day a couple weeks ago while walking Elijah to sleep in his bedroom, I looked at him and raised my eyebrows just for fun. He giggled. I did it again, he laughed a little, but kept his thumb in his mouth so he could resume sucking it shortly. I did it again, he cracked up :) Ever since then raising our eyebrows to each other has become a fun game. Daddy was also allowed to join. Sometimes all we need to do is to say his name with a certain inflection in our voice to get him raising his eyebrows right away. Sometimes he starts the game himself, and sometimes he'd try to do it to get our attention. Silly kid! He doesn't realize that raising your eyebrows doesn't make any sound, so if we are not looking at him, his attempt at attention getting miserably fails!

The game is most often played at dinner table. We just sit around and raise our eyebrows at each other for a few minutes, then go back to eating. Weird family!

walking proof

Here it is, the first video capturing some of Elijah's first steps. He's much better even by now, improving by leaps and bounds daily! He can also stand up without needing furniture or a wall for support. But that would have to be another video for another day :)

we have a walker!

It's happening! Day by day, step by step, we are getting closer to independent walking. So far we've seen him take about three small steps by himself. We try to encourage him to walk towards us, but he gets so excited to reach his destination that he wants to plunge head first into our arms before he actually gets there :) The shrill squeals of delight he makes while trying to walk are precious! It maybe a while before I am able to capture the new walker on video, so you'll just have to take my word for it for now.

thirteen months old

The tradition of taking a picture over Daddy's shoulder each month came to an end. It was fun while it lasted, but it did eventually get a little old. So, there's no thirteen months old picture in the post. But for those of you who were expecting one, here's a consolation prize: a Tabblo. Tabblo is a pretty cool online service. I was expecting it to take me half a day to put together this poster, but it only took half an hour or so. You can also order posters you make (look for a "Purchase" link at the top), but I would caution you that the quality is not as good as I had hoped, although it's not totally terrible. The company is pretty new, and I think they did a great job. Hopefully their printing services will soon catch up with the quality of their online application.

Christmas 2006

This year we stayed home for Christmas. Partially becuase it's not easy to travel with a baby, but mostly because Ryan had to be at church for Christmas Eve service. Grandpa and Grandma Ferguson came to celebrate with us. After opening a million presents, Elijah got a chance to play his favorite game.



After a nap and more play with new toys, we all enjoyed BBQ brisket and cheesy potatoes.

shake your head

Shaking his head means several things for Elijah. He can shake his head to make it difficult for us to get food in his mouth when he doesn't want it. It can mean that he is in a playful mood. Sometimes he shakes his head for no apparent reason. But he always shakes his head when he is hanging out with his blue bear, especially if the bear also shakes his head!

salt rain

Now that Elijah can stand pretty well, he is interested in what's happening up high, like the dining table, for example. He grabs the edge of the table with his hands and tries to pull up to get a better view. It's adorable! Once in a while he finds something within reach. A few days ago he reached for the salt shaker. My emphatic "No" in two different languages across the room had no effect, neither did a sign for "no". He picked up the salt shaker, stretched out his arm over the carpet, and turned it upside down. If I ever had any doubt in gravity, this was a confirmation that it still works pretty well. The salt poured out like rain. I rushed to rescue the carpet, but by the time I crossed the room, we had a nice white powdery "puddle" on the floor.

P.S. You have to love the vacuum cleaners!