No, we don't use the Signing Time DVD's, but we do spend time doing ASL practise every day. Rebecca has a nice little vocabulary of signs, and I was told by the instructor of the ASL class I attend that she is doing extremely well with signing, both for her age in general and more especially for a hearing child of her age. She told me to keep up the good work, and said that it doesn't matter if she doesn't sign things properly, because just like with a spoken language where there are easy and hard words, ASL has easy and hard signs. Just keep signing the correct way to her, and eventually she'll change her 'baby' sign for the correct ones.
So... I thought I would show you all some of Rebecca's signs. :)
In addition to the ones on this video she also knows: more, hat, shoes, ball, banana, bath, bed (which she refuses to do because she doesn't like going to bed, lol), and a whole pile of others that currently escape my mind!
Showing posts with label baby signing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby signing. Show all posts
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
December pictures! (and maybe some verbal updating...)
Justin's work had a Christmas party for the kids, so we decided to take Rebecca to it, figuring she'd at least be able to eat a candy cane and maybe colour or make an ornament. It turned out that she was able to participate in nearly everything they had available for the children, although we did have to modify things a little for her! I love how they make it so easy to bring kids of all ages to their stuff! :)
This is a little snowman bell ornament we made... she was getting a kick out of shaking it there. We have to get ourselves a gluegun though, because that thing just doesn't want to stay together!!
And... a picture with 'saint' Nick... no, really, his name is Nick! Kinda funny, but anyway. This was how the kids got their little treat bag or stuffed toy-- they had to go see him. Rebecca was the only child under probably 3 that didn't scream or cry, lol!
Oh, and no, we're not doing Santa with Christmas.
The weather has truly been frightful much of the last couple of months... if it isn't freezing (literally) it's pouring rain... and sometimes it does both! But, we do have the occasional reprieve in which we can actually get outdoors to do more than take a walk, so here are a few pictures from a nice day. :)
The following is what happens when you give Rebecca a really mushy banana. It ends up ALL OVER HER.
A cute banana story from a couple of days ago...
We are teaching Rebecca some ASL while we await her verbal communication, and so one of the words she knows (we've discovered) is banana. She walked quite purposefully into the room I was in signing eat, and then something else... and I thought, "Oh, maybe she's asking for a banana.." So I asked her if she was wanting a banana, and she looked at me, went right into the kitchen and stood under the bananas and kept making that sign and pointing at the bananas! She made her banana disappear in about 2 minutes or less, lol!
And... apparently Rebecca really takes after me in many ways. Here she is feeding Cinders... piece. by. piece. She got a cup of food out of the bag (which I hadn't realized she knew how to open), and sat down with Cinders and fed her every single piece, and then tried to get me to let her have more to feed the dog! When I was little I used to sit and feed our dog as well. :) At least Rebecca doesn't like the taste of the dog food, because I also used to eat the food! :)
This is a little snowman bell ornament we made... she was getting a kick out of shaking it there. We have to get ourselves a gluegun though, because that thing just doesn't want to stay together!!
And... a picture with 'saint' Nick... no, really, his name is Nick! Kinda funny, but anyway. This was how the kids got their little treat bag or stuffed toy-- they had to go see him. Rebecca was the only child under probably 3 that didn't scream or cry, lol!Oh, and no, we're not doing Santa with Christmas.
The weather has truly been frightful much of the last couple of months... if it isn't freezing (literally) it's pouring rain... and sometimes it does both! But, we do have the occasional reprieve in which we can actually get outdoors to do more than take a walk, so here are a few pictures from a nice day. :)
The following is what happens when you give Rebecca a really mushy banana. It ends up ALL OVER HER.
A cute banana story from a couple of days ago...We are teaching Rebecca some ASL while we await her verbal communication, and so one of the words she knows (we've discovered) is banana. She walked quite purposefully into the room I was in signing eat, and then something else... and I thought, "Oh, maybe she's asking for a banana.." So I asked her if she was wanting a banana, and she looked at me, went right into the kitchen and stood under the bananas and kept making that sign and pointing at the bananas! She made her banana disappear in about 2 minutes or less, lol!
And... apparently Rebecca really takes after me in many ways. Here she is feeding Cinders... piece. by. piece. She got a cup of food out of the bag (which I hadn't realized she knew how to open), and sat down with Cinders and fed her every single piece, and then tried to get me to let her have more to feed the dog! When I was little I used to sit and feed our dog as well. :) At least Rebecca doesn't like the taste of the dog food, because I also used to eat the food! :)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
This and That
Okay, so I was thinking, I haven't said much about what is happening in Justin's and my lives lately... I keep talking about Rebecca! So, I'm going to try to give some information about what's happening with Justin and me... as well as Rebecca. Sorry, you can't read a blog entry from me that doesn't include Rebecca... just think, when we have two or more children, the entries will be lengthened accordingly! Maybe you'll eventually have to set aside 15 minutes or more to read an entry!
So... Justin first.
Justin has been working on a number of programs that I had no idea he was working on, but he was apparently working on them for things he thought would be helpful at Canon. It turns out, not only are they helpful, but when he sent them to their tech team, the leader of the team proceeded to send them out to each supervisor with the instructions to have each team member under them load it onto their computer so they would be able to make use of it! Justin also got an email thanking him for taking initiative, being creative, and doing something that helps Canon stay in their highly competitive position with other companies. :-) He also has made what is called "A-Player" for a consecutive 6+ months, and for making it the 6 months he gets a monetary bonus, plus he gets taken out to dinner by his company! Very exciting... especially the extra bit of money, lol. :-) Too bad it isn't going to also mean an increase in wages. I don't know if I mentioned it, but Canon had to give everyone a pay cut a couple of months ago. Thankfully, Justin had just been given a raise of 6.5%, and the cut was 5% in his tier level, so he actually ended up still making more than he was, but most people did not get that much of a raise if they even got one, and the higher tiers lost 15%, 25%, 35%, and 50%! Kinda makes one thankful to be at the bottom of the pyramid!
Justin has also been looking at other job possibilities. He's somewhat qualified to take a position as a Linux systems administrator, because places will hire on experience and knowledge rather than requiring a piece of paper for that one. He's got plenty of both (it's his favourite hobby!), and we discovered that jobs with Linux range in pay from double what he earns up to 4x the amount! Whoa!! He applied for at least one position, though he never heard back, so I guess that was probably a no go. However, there are many that come up in the area on a regular basis... so while we are quite happy with Canon and their benefits and such, we are also keeping our eyes and ears open for positions that would get us similar (or better!) benefits, and a MUCH better pay range! Another thing we would like is a 40ish hour work week somewhere closer to where we live, so the commute doesn't add an extra 1.5-2 hours each day! However, as a systems admin, he would also be on call through the night and on weekends, which would be a real pain, but hey, when overtime will get you at least time and a half around here, if not more... it's not too bad! I told him that I wouldn't want him working Sunday mornings though, and if he got a job that called him in on a Sunday they would have to wait for him until at least afternoon, if not evening. Hey, we only get so many family days! :-)
Me... well...
I'm teaching piano to my niece and nephew starting this Saturday, and trying to recruit more students. We'll see, perhaps this year it will only be the two of them, but maybe next year I'll find more!
I finally seem to have conquered the mildew staining issue we've been having, though it did result in a bit of lightening in some places on some of the garments. At least they're usable again!! We also thoroughly cleaned the washer. I took the soap dispenser apart, washed it, washed inside that area, and we poured 4 cups of bleach into the washer, ran an empty hot load, and then poured in a gallon of vinegar and ran another empty hot load! It was rather cheap, I guess, when you think about it, but the instructions I found for keeping mould out of a washing machine say that you should do that every 3-4 months, and every 6-8 weeks you should run an empty hot vinegar load. I guess a gallon of vinegar at about $2.50 every couple of months is worth it if we're going to get consistently clean clothing out of it! The clothing and diapers are coming so much cleaner since I got that done, it's been nice!
I've been really working hard at getting the house organized, because I don't want to child proof, per se (it's pretty much impossible to do in our house) but I would like *most* things that are within Rebecca's reach to be at least somewhat safe for her to get at. All I have left is my dining room table, and kitchen counter... and then my horrible mudroom/bathroom area, which will always be last on my agenda, hehe! I'm currently trying to figure out a storrage solution for all our tupperware/gladware/other containers! I'm starting to think one of those plastic tote containers under the sink might do the trick... just have to get Justin to clean out all his mouse traps so I can do it! Maybe one of the plastic drawers would be a better idea. Regardless, I think it's a potential solution. I also need to come up with some organizational strategies for our purchased cupboard, because the top shelf, wonderful as it is, needs to be split in half, and each of those spaces need to be split in half again. So, I'm thinking a wire rack organizer, and a set or two of plastic drawers might do the trick in there as well. If only those things weren't going to cost money, I'd be all set! :-)
I guess, finally, on my part, I made a new header for our blog (in case you didn't notice!). Seeing as it is rather oriented around the past year of our lives, I'll probably have to make a new one next year! I guess that's incentive to take lots of good pictures over the next year as well. :-)
Rebecca is walking somewhat well now, but is still preferring to crawl to get places. She looks at what she wants, crawls close to the place, stands up, and walks the last 3-5 steps to get close to the item!
She is not sleeping overly well through the night, though we are really working to teach her to sleep through the night at least somewhat. We're back to 1-2 wakings in a night (normally just one with a very early waking), which is so much better than it was most of the summer! She does not, however, believe that I need more sleep than I get. Often times she is up from 7:30am until 10:30 or 11pm, with maybe a 1 hour nap once or twice in the day. She actually just finished napping on me (I was holding her and typing this post at the same time), and now she's sitting beside me on the floor insisting that the frog in the picture book says "sss" even though I keep telling her it says "ribbit" not "ssss"! We're not doing so well on animal sounds, as you may have guessed, LOL!
Our big thing right now, is teaching her not to leave the house without an adult. We're trying to establish that she may not put her hand on the door except to look out. Both our screen doors do not latch properly, and with the cooler weather, we like having the breezes that come through all the screens. She makes it very difficult to get anything done, however, because every time I get occupied doing something, she heads for the nearest door (usually the back door)! So, I've been setting up training sessions for the past couple of days, in the hopes she will clue in... eventually! Any ideas on how to teach a baby not to cross the threshold of a door to the outdoors would be very appreciated!
Oh, yes, and my victory celebration of last night... we got home from sign language class and choir practise, and she was fussing at me for who knew what reason, and suddenly she just quieted right down, looked sweetly at me, and signed "milk" very clearly! She actually has been using the sign on occasion for the last couple of weeks, but it was more something we had to guess at than something she clearly knew what she was saying! She's also started telling us "finished" when she's done eating! If only we could convince her to just tell us, and not tell us and then put all the food on the floor!! :-)
So... Justin first.
Justin has been working on a number of programs that I had no idea he was working on, but he was apparently working on them for things he thought would be helpful at Canon. It turns out, not only are they helpful, but when he sent them to their tech team, the leader of the team proceeded to send them out to each supervisor with the instructions to have each team member under them load it onto their computer so they would be able to make use of it! Justin also got an email thanking him for taking initiative, being creative, and doing something that helps Canon stay in their highly competitive position with other companies. :-) He also has made what is called "A-Player" for a consecutive 6+ months, and for making it the 6 months he gets a monetary bonus, plus he gets taken out to dinner by his company! Very exciting... especially the extra bit of money, lol. :-) Too bad it isn't going to also mean an increase in wages. I don't know if I mentioned it, but Canon had to give everyone a pay cut a couple of months ago. Thankfully, Justin had just been given a raise of 6.5%, and the cut was 5% in his tier level, so he actually ended up still making more than he was, but most people did not get that much of a raise if they even got one, and the higher tiers lost 15%, 25%, 35%, and 50%! Kinda makes one thankful to be at the bottom of the pyramid!
Justin has also been looking at other job possibilities. He's somewhat qualified to take a position as a Linux systems administrator, because places will hire on experience and knowledge rather than requiring a piece of paper for that one. He's got plenty of both (it's his favourite hobby!), and we discovered that jobs with Linux range in pay from double what he earns up to 4x the amount! Whoa!! He applied for at least one position, though he never heard back, so I guess that was probably a no go. However, there are many that come up in the area on a regular basis... so while we are quite happy with Canon and their benefits and such, we are also keeping our eyes and ears open for positions that would get us similar (or better!) benefits, and a MUCH better pay range! Another thing we would like is a 40ish hour work week somewhere closer to where we live, so the commute doesn't add an extra 1.5-2 hours each day! However, as a systems admin, he would also be on call through the night and on weekends, which would be a real pain, but hey, when overtime will get you at least time and a half around here, if not more... it's not too bad! I told him that I wouldn't want him working Sunday mornings though, and if he got a job that called him in on a Sunday they would have to wait for him until at least afternoon, if not evening. Hey, we only get so many family days! :-)
Me... well...
I'm teaching piano to my niece and nephew starting this Saturday, and trying to recruit more students. We'll see, perhaps this year it will only be the two of them, but maybe next year I'll find more!
I finally seem to have conquered the mildew staining issue we've been having, though it did result in a bit of lightening in some places on some of the garments. At least they're usable again!! We also thoroughly cleaned the washer. I took the soap dispenser apart, washed it, washed inside that area, and we poured 4 cups of bleach into the washer, ran an empty hot load, and then poured in a gallon of vinegar and ran another empty hot load! It was rather cheap, I guess, when you think about it, but the instructions I found for keeping mould out of a washing machine say that you should do that every 3-4 months, and every 6-8 weeks you should run an empty hot vinegar load. I guess a gallon of vinegar at about $2.50 every couple of months is worth it if we're going to get consistently clean clothing out of it! The clothing and diapers are coming so much cleaner since I got that done, it's been nice!
I've been really working hard at getting the house organized, because I don't want to child proof, per se (it's pretty much impossible to do in our house) but I would like *most* things that are within Rebecca's reach to be at least somewhat safe for her to get at. All I have left is my dining room table, and kitchen counter... and then my horrible mudroom/bathroom area, which will always be last on my agenda, hehe! I'm currently trying to figure out a storrage solution for all our tupperware/gladware/other containers! I'm starting to think one of those plastic tote containers under the sink might do the trick... just have to get Justin to clean out all his mouse traps so I can do it! Maybe one of the plastic drawers would be a better idea. Regardless, I think it's a potential solution. I also need to come up with some organizational strategies for our purchased cupboard, because the top shelf, wonderful as it is, needs to be split in half, and each of those spaces need to be split in half again. So, I'm thinking a wire rack organizer, and a set or two of plastic drawers might do the trick in there as well. If only those things weren't going to cost money, I'd be all set! :-)
I guess, finally, on my part, I made a new header for our blog (in case you didn't notice!). Seeing as it is rather oriented around the past year of our lives, I'll probably have to make a new one next year! I guess that's incentive to take lots of good pictures over the next year as well. :-)
Rebecca is walking somewhat well now, but is still preferring to crawl to get places. She looks at what she wants, crawls close to the place, stands up, and walks the last 3-5 steps to get close to the item!
She is not sleeping overly well through the night, though we are really working to teach her to sleep through the night at least somewhat. We're back to 1-2 wakings in a night (normally just one with a very early waking), which is so much better than it was most of the summer! She does not, however, believe that I need more sleep than I get. Often times she is up from 7:30am until 10:30 or 11pm, with maybe a 1 hour nap once or twice in the day. She actually just finished napping on me (I was holding her and typing this post at the same time), and now she's sitting beside me on the floor insisting that the frog in the picture book says "sss" even though I keep telling her it says "ribbit" not "ssss"! We're not doing so well on animal sounds, as you may have guessed, LOL!
Our big thing right now, is teaching her not to leave the house without an adult. We're trying to establish that she may not put her hand on the door except to look out. Both our screen doors do not latch properly, and with the cooler weather, we like having the breezes that come through all the screens. She makes it very difficult to get anything done, however, because every time I get occupied doing something, she heads for the nearest door (usually the back door)! So, I've been setting up training sessions for the past couple of days, in the hopes she will clue in... eventually! Any ideas on how to teach a baby not to cross the threshold of a door to the outdoors would be very appreciated!
Oh, yes, and my victory celebration of last night... we got home from sign language class and choir practise, and she was fussing at me for who knew what reason, and suddenly she just quieted right down, looked sweetly at me, and signed "milk" very clearly! She actually has been using the sign on occasion for the last couple of weeks, but it was more something we had to guess at than something she clearly knew what she was saying! She's also started telling us "finished" when she's done eating! If only we could convince her to just tell us, and not tell us and then put all the food on the floor!! :-)
Sunday, July 26, 2009
July Stuff
Well, the most fun developments are on the part of Rebecca.
She is standing alone more and more, and doing things such as climbing into (and getting stuck in) the middle of our table (it has place to store the chairs, which, when there are no chairs in it, is apparently a baby jungle gym! She actually managed to climb all the way up into it, and get stuck one day... she hasn't done that again... yet!
Rebecca is climbing stairs like a pro, and that is exactly what she heads for every time we are in the back yard. I'm starting to think we're going to need to find a way to "baby gate" the FROG steps! I suppose in a way it is better than her heading for the pool, but really, considering I really don't think she would be able to pull of climbing into the pool just yet, and I know she has no fear of falling since she has proven that on more than one occasion, I think I would prefer she head for the water for the moment.
We've discovered that she is beginning to use the signs that I have been trying to show her. Last night was the most definite example of her using signs, when we were sitting eating, and she was quite upset about something, and finally she started tapping her hand on her mouth! YAY! She's starting to communicate her needs! Now if only I can convince her that "eat" and "milk" are actually two different things, LOL!
Rebecca has also taken to "reading" to herself, which is quite entertaining to watch. She'll get out her (apparently) favourite book of the day, and then sit there for 10 minutes or more sometimes giggling to herself as she turns the pages one by one... over, and over, and over again! She also loves it if you'll come along and read the book in her hands to her! I'm trying to teach her to sign "book", since she apparently likes them so much, but thus far "eat" is her priority. :-)
Oh, and she has not gone back to any sort of a napping schedule at all. She cat naps for about 2 hours in the late afternoon (about 4-6pm), so long as I am sitting holding her. It really isn't conducive to getting ANYTHING done at all. She fusses if I so much as move, and she refuses to be in the sling or anything for the "cat nap" period. The rest of the day she's fine, but of course, I can't get sleep for myself... and she's not sleeping more at night either. If anything, she's sleeping less! Argh!
Well, I don't remember if I mentioned it before or not, but Justin got a raise at work, then he got a pay cut, and thankfully he came out about 1.5% ahead anyway! He got one of the highest raises that was given out at his work place, and it beat the pay cut, so we are thankful for that extra $280/year, lol. :-) It doesn't sound like much, but it's something, anyway! Maybe they'll increase back to the original pay rates if sales do well enough this year... or maybe he'll get and KEEP his raise next year! At least we're not working with even less money...
I've been trying to catch Rebecca doing interesting things, because really, while it is cute to see just regular "smiling" pictures, she is so much more interactive than she was even a week ago! The only problem is, she now smiles every time she sees the camera too! She loves the light on my camera, and starts grining waiting for it, even if we're outside, where I almost NEVER use my flash! I think we've done pretty well catching quite a few pictures of her anyway... I'll have to load them onto my computer shortly and then get them up sometime soon. She's changing way too fast lately!
We spent our afternoon today helping out some friends, removing a bunch of branches from their back yard for the bulk trash tomorrow. They had a stack in their back yard that ended up creating a stack about 10 feet tall, 15 feet wide, and 20 feet long at the curb! Their neighbour was complaining about it being in their back yard, for whatever reason, so they decided they would appease the neighbour rather than keeping it all for "bonfire" wood.
And, the last of the news is that I apparently have a desire to injure myself a lot this past week. I walked into the fire extinguisher which (STILL) hasn't been mounted on the wall, and sliced my little toe open... so I haven't been in the pool all week (nor has Rebecca) while I awaited some healing of that. It finally stopped weeping occasionally in the last couple of days, so I think Rebecca and I will be able to make use of the kiddie pool again. :-) The other was, I sliced my finger open on the lid of a yogurt container! Did you know that was possible?? I didn't! Anyway, it's like a giant paper cut!
She is standing alone more and more, and doing things such as climbing into (and getting stuck in) the middle of our table (it has place to store the chairs, which, when there are no chairs in it, is apparently a baby jungle gym! She actually managed to climb all the way up into it, and get stuck one day... she hasn't done that again... yet!
Rebecca is climbing stairs like a pro, and that is exactly what she heads for every time we are in the back yard. I'm starting to think we're going to need to find a way to "baby gate" the FROG steps! I suppose in a way it is better than her heading for the pool, but really, considering I really don't think she would be able to pull of climbing into the pool just yet, and I know she has no fear of falling since she has proven that on more than one occasion, I think I would prefer she head for the water for the moment.
We've discovered that she is beginning to use the signs that I have been trying to show her. Last night was the most definite example of her using signs, when we were sitting eating, and she was quite upset about something, and finally she started tapping her hand on her mouth! YAY! She's starting to communicate her needs! Now if only I can convince her that "eat" and "milk" are actually two different things, LOL!
Rebecca has also taken to "reading" to herself, which is quite entertaining to watch. She'll get out her (apparently) favourite book of the day, and then sit there for 10 minutes or more sometimes giggling to herself as she turns the pages one by one... over, and over, and over again! She also loves it if you'll come along and read the book in her hands to her! I'm trying to teach her to sign "book", since she apparently likes them so much, but thus far "eat" is her priority. :-)
Oh, and she has not gone back to any sort of a napping schedule at all. She cat naps for about 2 hours in the late afternoon (about 4-6pm), so long as I am sitting holding her. It really isn't conducive to getting ANYTHING done at all. She fusses if I so much as move, and she refuses to be in the sling or anything for the "cat nap" period. The rest of the day she's fine, but of course, I can't get sleep for myself... and she's not sleeping more at night either. If anything, she's sleeping less! Argh!
Well, I don't remember if I mentioned it before or not, but Justin got a raise at work, then he got a pay cut, and thankfully he came out about 1.5% ahead anyway! He got one of the highest raises that was given out at his work place, and it beat the pay cut, so we are thankful for that extra $280/year, lol. :-) It doesn't sound like much, but it's something, anyway! Maybe they'll increase back to the original pay rates if sales do well enough this year... or maybe he'll get and KEEP his raise next year! At least we're not working with even less money...
I've been trying to catch Rebecca doing interesting things, because really, while it is cute to see just regular "smiling" pictures, she is so much more interactive than she was even a week ago! The only problem is, she now smiles every time she sees the camera too! She loves the light on my camera, and starts grining waiting for it, even if we're outside, where I almost NEVER use my flash! I think we've done pretty well catching quite a few pictures of her anyway... I'll have to load them onto my computer shortly and then get them up sometime soon. She's changing way too fast lately!
We spent our afternoon today helping out some friends, removing a bunch of branches from their back yard for the bulk trash tomorrow. They had a stack in their back yard that ended up creating a stack about 10 feet tall, 15 feet wide, and 20 feet long at the curb! Their neighbour was complaining about it being in their back yard, for whatever reason, so they decided they would appease the neighbour rather than keeping it all for "bonfire" wood.
And, the last of the news is that I apparently have a desire to injure myself a lot this past week. I walked into the fire extinguisher which (STILL) hasn't been mounted on the wall, and sliced my little toe open... so I haven't been in the pool all week (nor has Rebecca) while I awaited some healing of that. It finally stopped weeping occasionally in the last couple of days, so I think Rebecca and I will be able to make use of the kiddie pool again. :-) The other was, I sliced my finger open on the lid of a yogurt container! Did you know that was possible?? I didn't! Anyway, it's like a giant paper cut!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)