getting chatty

Caleb has been communicating for a while now. he does great with his signs, doing more, please, all-done, and milk. he actually uses the "more" sign as an all-purpose "I want that" sign, and he's modified it to more like a clapping motion. and when he REALLY wants something (like a bit of my cookie), he goes through all of his signs in rapid succession, which is quite funny. but the point is that he can "talk" to us without whining too much. very nice. now that he's doing them well, we need to figure out a few more to teach him. we're currently working on water.

but he had shown little interest in actually saying words. he likes to do animal sounds (dog, cow, snake), but not so much enthusiasm for real words. until yesterday. we may be reading into some of his sounds, but we're pretty sure he's attempting these words now: "fit" for fruit (his favorite food item), "buh" for banana, "bah" for ball, "da" for daddy, "ma" for mama, "ah-um" for amen (which he's been doing a little while now at the end of every mealtime prayer), and he'll say "hi" to grandma on the phone, much to her delight. it's really cool to see him understand a whole lot of what we say too.

and while were on the subject of milestones, we're often asked if he's walking yet. the current answer is "not by himself." he LOVES to zoom around the house while holding our hands or using his walker, but he's not steady enough to stand and balance on his own. and he is naturally VERY cautious at all costs, and being so tall, I think it's hard for him to balance. so we'll see. mama hopes that he'll be walking well by the time the little girl arrives (probably less than 2 months!), but it doesnt seem like that is going to happen. all in good time. meanwhile, he's getting good at climbing up and down the furnature, and getting in and out of all manner of basket and such. it's so cool to see him explore his world.

oh and here's a common sight, which grandma spotted in this picture: he loves to clutch a cheerio or goldfish or whatever in his hand and carry it around the house. I've discovered that when he wants one of those things, he actually wants TWO: one to hold, and one to eat. this also makes for fun games with the dog, who follows him around, trying to get at it. I think he's figured this out, so they'll chase eachother back and forth. it's alot of fun to see them playing together.