Monday, July 21, 2008

Summer pictures





You know Squeakums and BearHunter. The other four young people next to Squeakums is the team from California that just finished their mission trip to Alaska with us. They served us and with us the last two weeks and were a welcome encouragement. They taught us a powerful skit to music "everything" by lighthouse...check it out on youtube, it's amazing. And they helped with our vegetable gardening, community service,a nd joined us for our High Praise and Warfare and intensive Bible study that we're preparing for a secondary YWAM school here.

Squeakums was rock wall climbing quite well actually. He's very physically capable - not too surprising considering his parents. And last weekend we took a nice 3 mile hike with him in a borrowed backpack to Reuben Call Memorial. The view is beautiful from up there

More sign language

Squeakums twirls in circles! It takes him about 5 seconds for each revolution. Not sure where he picked that up.

He now signs "eat/food." He loves drinking his juice - which is at least half water. And his favorite blanket is a pale yellow, very soft one. If he's thrown it overboard out of his crib while crying, then he wont' be able to go to sleep until he gets it back. Luckily he only throws it over once it at all, each night.

The bear hide on our bed (!!!!!) captures baby's interest. We try to teach him to pet it, so he interacts well with dogs. He actually calls it "Dooh" thinking it's a dog. He loves animals, especially dogs. And actually pets them pretty well, but we are hovering over him to make sure everyone is safe.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Baby communication



Squeakums is blossoming with his sign language. He started doing “please” within the last two weeks (his version is both hands slapping on his chest accompanied by an exuberant cry). “Potty” is the new sign he started this week (one fist waving an ASL ‘T’ for toilet). He’s also showing interest in learning how to get himself on and off his little potty. We’re excited about that since the elimination communication has not worked as well as we, or rather I, (mom) had hoped. He rarely ever goes in the potty anymore, just in his diapers, even though we try to offer it to him. Yes, we’re still in cloth diapers except at night and occasionally for naps when we expect a poop. So his now signing “potty” and pointing to it and being happy to sit on it, though briefly, is great news.

He discovered a bongo type drum on the stage this week as well. Now whenever he walks into the lounge, he beelines for the drum and starts beating on it, as if he knows what he’s doing! His version of dancing is bouncing up and down, sometimes bending at the knee, and sometimes going on tippy toes. It’s sweet. Every day brings so much joy with him. He loves to be tickled and surprised and play peek-a-boo with blankets. He also loves to watch mommy and daddy tickle eachother and laugh, he joins in quickly with big laughter.

Then tonight he started saying “nana’ for banana…which he loves to eat! Dad gave him a while banana this weekend at family camp and he chomped his way through the whole thing before Dad realized what was happening. Not eating the peel of course. However, he bowel movements have reaped the consequences. Bananas cause constipation in babies, FYI.

Other words he’s saying:
MORE he says like “noah”
DAD is “dah”
HAT is “t”