"G" speak & Sign Language

A few weeks ago I started jotting down the signs that Gianna has learned and uses most often. You know, all that stuff you say you'll remember twenty years from now, but you really won't unless you write it down. I didn't plan on the event that my child would go on signing strike. That's all part of the recent two-year old behavior we've been experiencing. (That post is coming soon to a blog near you.) She'll actually still uses signs, but only when she's motivated, but absolutely refuses to "perform" - which I am really okay with. I can't really blame her. There are rare occasions when she forgets she's "on strike" and will sign her little heart out. So, here is a rough estimate of her pre-strike signing vocabulary. (Regardless of the strike, I'm a HUGE advocate of baby signing. It's certainly not necessary, but it has reduced that not-so-wonderful whining down tremendously. I really think it's bonded us, too, and given her a sense of control and satisfaction when she's able to communicate various needs or thoughts. Sometimes, she actually quizzes me. She'll do the sign and wait for me to say the word.)

Thankfully I recorded her a few weeks ago when she was a little more cooperative.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

With the reduction of signing, has come an increase in her verbal skills, which may very well be a natural progression. As I'm compiling this list, I'm really shocked by how much she's saying. Listed below is a little translation guide of words that Gianna uses fairly often.

We'll call it "G" speak.

What she says is in "quotes." What she means is in (parentheses.)

"bah bah" (bye bye)

"dahhhhh...DAH" (this is 'bye bye down in a very LOUD voice- whenever we're getting ready to leave or she sees a door)
"da da" (Daddy) Used to say dada all the time not much now
"ReReRe" (Ring around the Rosie) I will have to get this on tape.
"nah nah" (Knock Knock)
"taa taa" (Tap Tap)
"Baw" (ball)
"Buh" (book) always accompanied by the sign
"Chee" (Cheese)- if given the choice, that's all she would eat ---- I'm telling you, this child has my DNA
"la la la la" (Elmo - as in the Elmo's World song)
"poo" (spoon)
"tee" (teeth - actually she only uses in as in "I want to brush my teeth.")
"nee" (knee) - good translation, huh
"ny ny" (night night)
"rah rah" (rock rock) as in rocking in the chair or rocking a baby doll

"dow dow dow" (Down Down Down ---- referring to the lowering of the garage door)

"uh uh uh" (Up Up Up ----- yep....that's the opening of the garage door)

"cah" (this one is invariably followed by the sign for car and a guttural motor sound....always done together)
"nyo nyo nyo" (no no no)

"Yee" (eat)

"tee tee tee" (what a bird says)

"duh duh duh" (what a duck says) so cute that she won't use quack....only duck

"ruh ruh ruh" (what a dog says)

"mow" (what a cat says) always in a high pitch

"yeah" (yeah) this one she repeats a lot...usually as she's playing "yeah, yeah, yeah, nyo, yeah." so cute

"TAHP" (stop) This is my absolute favorite word/sign combination that she does. She always does it with a HUGE grin and an emphatic tone. (Mimicking us, I'm sure.)

She's also big into kissing. Blowing kisses, Actual kisses, Eskimo kisses, Butterfly kisses....the whole shabang. Loves them all.

There are quite a few things I'm surprised she's not saying. "uh-oh" is one and how 'bout "mama" or any thing remotely related to mother. She's actually not saying "dada" much anymore either. Little turkey! I'm thinking that's a control thing. Geez, they start early with that hunger for control.

***ADDED NOTE: Wouldn't you know that as played the video to make sure I had the right one, she sat next to me watching and signed EVERYTHING I was asking her to on the video. What a little monkey. :)

Happy as a Hog!

Okay, so it's not a hog...it's a pig with a tutu.

I'll rephrase it:

I'm happy as a pig in a tutu.

As I was blog hopping the other day, I hopped on over to

Today's Creative Blog

which has been one of my favorite creative sights since my introduction to the blogosphere.

Kim, the creative mind behind the blog, was offereing a give away of these brilliant camera straps that I've been eyeing recently over at the Etsy shop of Shey [B]. I put my name in to win....and guess what? I won. Yippeeee!

We recently broke our Canon Rebel - which was a total bummer - and my sweet husband bought the newer model. Which is great - (except for having to pay for it.) Well, now our new camera will be gussied up with a fancy doo-da camera strap.

Thank you Kim, not only for the awesome win, but for actually taking notice of my blog and writing a little bit about it. Now I know there are at least 3 readers!)

Who said Mondays have to stink?

Watermelon

All summer I have been wondering if Gianna would like watermelon......Her Daddy tried to show her what to do.... She did a little experimenting... She started to get the hang of it...
Got a little support from Daddy...And, from the looks of that juicy little grin...
....I don't believe I'll be wondering any longer.

Summer Math....

Not to worry......no actual math was performed in the writing of this post.

After a little bit of a blogging break, I afforded myself some time to get a few mundane projects completed that have been hanging over my head.

Once I completeled those projects, I felt like I had the freedom to do some of the creative things that I've been postponing until the important stuff was done.

What I learned was that I really need to be plugged in to my creativity. It energizes me, inspires me and gives me the umph I need to take care of the mundane crummy things I need to do. I guess it's just all about balance.
So, here are some of the more fun tasks that I've been able to complete lately in the form of a few simple math equations:

Equation #1:
Grandmother's victorian-style pitcher that doesn't really go with my decor...

PLUS
Craft Paper & Mod Podge I already had

EQUALS:

Nice little watering pitcher for my sunroom.

Equation #2:

Receiving blankets that have great use with newborns for the first 2 weeks of their lives...

PLUS
a pair of scissors or pinking shears....

EQUALS:
Tons of awesome, soft little everyday clothes to wipe messy mouths at the table, use when baby has diaper rash so as not to add chemicals to their soar bottoms, throw in your diaper bag for messes on the go, or to stash in your car for invariable messes. What I love is that you can just throw them away if you don't want to have to deal with the super-yucky messes and not feel guilty about wasting money.
I keep mine in a fancy shmancy crystal napkin holder that I rarely use.

Equation #3:

A pair of scissors or pinking shearsPLUS

four yards of tulle (I used pink and white)

EQUALS:

A TuTu for my sweet little ballerina.

Here's the Tu Tu Tutorial I used that I found on You Tube.

And just in case you missed my TuTu post and want to see 48 pictures of my sweet baby girl in her TuTu....HERE'S THE LINK.

Equation #4

Silver 'Plated' Tea set that started chipping and I got tired of polishing:

PLUS

Craft Paper & Mod Podge (one of my favorite combinations lately!)

EQUALS:

Cutesy new little shabby chic tea set - whose purpose I've yet to discover.

Equation #5:

Old faded sand box that I've had for years.

PLUS

A can of special FUSION spray paint for plastic (less than $5 at Wal-mart)

Equals:

Brand spankin' new (looking) sand box

Equation #6:

Cheap little wooden frame from Michael's (on sale)Plus craft paint and ribbon I already had:
Equals:

sweet little frame for almost nothing

Equation #7:

A few bags of balls you can get at most superstores. (I used 3 bags for $8 each.)

Plus:

An old play pen I had in the attic. Equals:

A ball pit for my very busy little munchkin as well as a sanity preserver for her mommy.

Original Ball Pit post is HERE:

Equation #8 (a little more on the practical side):
The following ingredients (less than $10 for the whole lot)

PLUS:

A big ol' pot and water & a five gallon bucket.

Equals:

Laundry soap that will last for MONTHS and only took 30 minutes to make (it comes out to about a penny a load).

There are tons of tutorials in blogland. I used THIS ONE. ***

*** I have to say I was a little bit tentative about trying this, but I am delightfully surprised by the results. It doesn't suds up like regular detergent and once you've mixed it, it has a gelatnous consistency (which my husband and I think is pretty cool.) They suggest you add essential oils to scent it, but I gagged in the health food store smelling them all. I didn't add anything and it smells super-clean. I also have $1 containers of the Oxyclean knock-off brand from Dollar Tree to add to loads with a little extra mess.

Now, this is the kind of math that I don't get tired of!

Don't mess with my TuTu

A few weeks ago I made Gianna a sweet little tutu with some tulle that I've been saving. I found a "tutu tutorial" online and it only took about 30 minutes. Not bad.

I finally put her in it this week to take some pictures.

This might be the result if you mess with her TuTu.....

This one's my favorite, by far. Kinda reminds me of one of the munchkins from the Lollipop Guild of 'Wizard of Oz' fame.

Here's a slide show of the rest of the pictures, just in case you haven't gotten quite enough of my little ballerina. You can thank me later. :)