Sign Language

Mr N and I were rather half-hearted in our attempts at using signs while talking to Miss E. I think we pretty much just did the sign for "eat." Personally I guess I had a hard time believing it would work and that E would ever use sign language to communicate. Well lo and behold, one day Miss E kept doing some movement with her hand by her mouth. I realized, "She's signing EAT!" This was followed by much celebration!

At first E would cry and sign "eat" constantly until I put her in her highchair. Then after a day or two, once she signed "eat" (not crying) and I acknowledged it, she was fine. She understood that I understood her and would feed her. THEN she started signing "eat" ALL the time, even when I knew perfectly well she wasn't hungry (i.e., lunch was 10 minutes ago). She was kind of using "eat" as a catch-all sign because it was the only one she knew. So I taught her "play" and am currently trying to teach her "full" and "all done" (do you think she'll stop throwing food on the floor when she's done eating once she's done eating??? that's my hope!)

Image credit: http://www.babysignsbymaureen.com/

More Pictures of E

Enjoying some Gerber Puffs


Hanging with my favorite guy


Trying to play with the laptop!

The Tuna Adventure

Mr N went tuna fishing and brought home a cooler full of tuna steaks! He canned it all (hard work, late nights, terrible mess & stink) and ended up with this:



84 jars of delicious tuna!! We've already used two jars - this stuff is MUCH better than that junk from the store. Yay Mr N! You rock!

To read more about his tuna adventure, namely the catching of said tuna, go here: Tuna Fishing

14 Months Old!

In a few days, Baby E will be 14 months old. I'm going to take a few minutes to note what Baby E is up to.

She has 7 teeth and loves to eat. She especially loves mooching off her parents. She is always on the lookout against vegetables, but sometimes I can slip them into casseroles without her noticing. Her favorite foods recently are blueberries, oranges & grapes. She is a fruitaholic.

Baby E gives Mr N a nice smirk.

She is a happy baby who loves to "read" books, clap her hands, sit on Daddy's lap, cuddle with Mommy, giggle, and get tossed around by Daddy. She is really growing in her ability to communicate. She can express when she likes something (or hates it). She said her first word on Sunday: Yum! (talking about blueberries, of course). We went to play with some friends yesterday and she showed quite clearly that the pool was not much fun but the berry bushes were fantastic!




She loves to play with adult things - the cell phone being an especial favorite. If your phone rings only once and your caller id says it was us, well that's because Baby E called you! She discovered the drawer in the coffee table unfortunately so I cleaned out all the scissors and matches and our house is officially and completely baby-proofed. Only took 13 months! Her favorite book right now is The Lady With the Alligator Purse.

She loves to look at other babies, but as typical for her age, doesn't interact with them much yet. In an unfamiliar situation, she likes to sit with me or Mr N until she feels more comfortable. Eventually she gets comfortable enough to go exploring! She is more of a homebody, though. At home she likes to play for a while then check in with her parents. If I leave the room, she will usually follow me to see what I am up to. Her newest thing is opening the shower door and getting soaked when one of us is in there!


Thanks for the dress, Grandma N!