Lissy will be 18 months old in March, and I'm loving watching her communication skills grow! Her first words were the standard: mama, dada, dog, cat, duck. At around 9 months she started signing "milk" when she wanted to nurse. (We started signing it to her and saying it every time she nursed around 6 months.) By the time shew as a year old she knew at least five signs well enough to communicate them clearly, said several words (though many were still a little fuzzy we could understand them), and knew a while host of animal sounds. Shortly after that we added "please" and "thank you" to her signing vocabulary, followed closely by verbalizing them.
Somewhere between 16 and 17 months she started to noticeably verbalize more words. She now uses gestures as well, and in the last couple of weeks she's begun taking me by the hand and showing me what she wants along with saying it. Don't get me wrong, she still babbles incoherently a lot, but I love that we're starting to understand her! Every time she uses a new sign or distinctly says a new word I am over-the-moon excited. Maybe it's because she's my first and it's all a new experience to me too. Maybe it's because I've taken classes on language development and understand some of the amazing ways her brain is working and growing. Or maybe it's pride in knowing that I helped teach her those words. Whatever the case may be, she's definitely talking, and if she's anything like her mama, you'll never get her to stop! ;)Our journey with communication and learning is just beginning! Gwyn (who turned 6 months old last weekend) said her first word last night! "Dada" is officially the favorite! ;) She's also been moving her hand when I sign "milk," so I think we're getting pretty close on that one too! I'd love to hear some of your favorite memories about your kids (or yourself, or someone else you know) learning to communicate!
