My Sweet Girl

Before I forget, I must tell this story.

Our little monkey has been learning sign language. She has been soaking it up like a sponge, thanks in part to Signing Time on PBS (thank you DVR)! She signs "signing time" when she wants to watch it, lately all.the.time. It forces me to learn as well so we can communicate. She has been a little parrot with the words she says but this gives her another outlet to get her intentions and desires across. It has led to much less frustration on her end and less frustration equals less tantrums! I'll take it!

There are signs we get to practice frequently, such as "eat", "more", "puppy", "bird", "milk", "cracker", etc. In one of the episodes we recently watched, they were covering people interaction signs. Two in particular were "sorry" and "hurt". We really hadn't gone over those much since she doesn't have a wide range of people she interacts with on a day-to-day basis and I didn't think much of it.

Later that week, I was trying to make dinner and she was playing with one of her brother's toys - a big baby "remote control" car. I didn't see what happened, but I could hear some frustration in her voice. Suddenly, I heard the sound of the car crashing to the ground. She had chunked it across the room. "Savannah!" I exclaimed. "Do you want to go to time out? We do NOT throw our brother's toys missy!" Say what you will about time out for sub-two year olds, but I think every child is different and some children definitely respond better than others. Mine is one that responds very well. I want her to learn to respect others' things - especially her brother's because they have to coexist peacefully for the next 16 years (at least). He's not going to be the "little" brother very long.

Anyway, that little lip quivered and the simple threat of time out sent her to tears. I didn't even have to repeat myself. She walked over to the bottom step where time out happens and sat there. I wasn't going to take her out of time out when she went voluntarily so I ignored her and let her stew on it for half a minute. I went over to her and knelt down. "Savannah, I still love you. Can I have a hug?". She hugged me. "Can you say 'I'm sorry' for throwing Bennett's toy?". I've heard her say "sorry" before so I was expecting a little toddler "soweee" to come out of her lips. Instead, she rubbed her fist over her heart repeatedly. It took a couple tries for her to make me get it - she was signing "I'm sorry". It clicked when I vaguely remembered the episode we had watched earlier. Then she put her index fingers together for "hurt". I melted. I think she thought she "hurt" his toy. My little girl basically signed "I'm sorry I hurt his toy." Two signs we had never practiced, but signs that she picked up and knew exactly when to use them. I'm sure this is normal brain development at this age but I was so blown away.

My baby girl is growing up. Between English, ASL, and Portuguese, this little lady is acquiring quite the vocabulary by the day. I am loving it. She amazes me over and over again and I love the possibilities each new day holds. I cannot wait for Bennett to be doing this as well. When they don't know I'm watching, Savannah and Bennett smile at each other and when they do; I feel like I get this glimpse at something special. I think they know how close they are in age and how they are going to share so much together. Either that or they are plotting something and I should be afraid. Regardless, I am blissfully unaware right now and my heart swells. I love these two and I can't wait for more.