As TJ makes the transition to speaking, with sign language as back up, it’s so neat to see his little mind work as he learns new words.
The other day we were in the living room, and he’s running away from Gigi, who is a snake. I said “stay close, I’ll protect you!” and I repeated “stay close!” He signed to me, with the slightest question, but mostly just double checkin’ “closed, right?” and said out loud “close.”
It was so cool to get his thought, through sign language, which showed me clearly that he was making a connection between what I had just said and what was already in his vocabulary.
Thankfully, the signs are different, even if the words sound the same. I showed him the sign for “close” like “you’re close to me” and then for good measure included “far.” I also tried to enunciate ‘close’ more clearly, clo-ss, as opposed to clohzze-da. And he signed and said close, with a little nod of “got it” and ran to find Gigi again.
There are also words he still will have to work out. For example, that ‘dinner’ and ‘lunch’ are a form of food or eating. He wants ‘lunch’ when you say what do you want to eat?
Me: Let’s make something to eat.
TJ: I want lunch.
Me: A sandwich?
TJ: No! Lunch!
Me: Lunch?
TJ: Yes!
Me: Ok, I’ll make some lunch.
He’s decided ‘candy’ and ‘lolly’ are different things. He uses the same sign, but if I verbally offer him candy when he wants a lolly, he’s says ‘no! lolly!’
More stuff he’s learning: TJ now knows what a Toyota symbol looks like, and that Holdens have a lion symbol. I’ve started pointing out to him different car brands when we go for walks.
One of the best things about being a dad is watching your kids learn stuff. It’s AWESOME.
