kira speak

Kira seems to be in a new language development period. A few quotes from yesterday:

- I was blogging and she came in the room and said "oll-uh". I knew she was approximating a word and not just giving me a dispatch-from-Kira, but for the life of me, I could not figure it out. Until I followed her into the living room and saw that she was trying to open up her STROLLER for her baby doll. Duh, Mom.

-Last night we were watching Dancing with the Stars (go Kelly!) and she looked up and did the sign for phone, said "i-tuh" which I think is "I talk", and said "Papaw". We said, "Kira, do you want us to call Papaw?" and she said, "NO!".

Then about fifteen minutes later, she did the sign for phone, said "i-tuh Nene". We said, "Kira, do you want to call Nene?" and she said, "es". We of course had to let Papaw know that she had no interest in talking to him.

-Monday nights are "boys night" while I watch DwtS. Boys night = hot dogs and fritos. So, last night, Kira introduced her newest word, "ot dog".

Oh, and I remember one from last week that I wanted to get down. Derek was off and I was taking a shower and getting ready to go somewhere about the time he usually leaves for work. I came out of the shower and Kira looked at me and said, "Mommy? Work?". She was totally making the connection between the getting ready and the time of day and transferring that from her Daddy to me! Of course, I had to say, "No baby, Mommy is always at work." (She doesn't say work that clearly, but I'm not sure how to write her approximation. She says it along with the sign for work and it's pretty close to the actual word.)

I know that sign language can be a hot button issue with our kids. Some parents feel that using sign language might hold their kids back from speech development. I can see that point, however in our case, sign language is a huge help. When Kira has a sign to go along with an approximation, I know right away what she's saying. Once she begins actually saying the word, the sign disappears. I think, for Kira, sign language helps to reduce frustration and encourage communication.

One more story - Kira made up her own sign to use when she wanted me to sing lullabies to her. Very quickly, she started saying "bye-bye" and using the sign with it. So, I knew that "bye-bye" was temporarily "night-night". Now she's saying "nye-nye" (no idea how to write that) and because I know right away that she's saying night-night, she doesn't use the sign. Now, she only uses that sign when she wants me to sing lullabies.

While I would love for her to have the vocabulary of her brother at this age, I LOVE the fact that she uses her limited vocabulary in the ways that she does. Watching her problem solve and figure out how to communicate is really amazing.

more Kira speak

beh-boh - Elmo
bih bird - Big Bird

leh-low - yellow - This one is brand spanking new. We were reading last night and she pointed to Big Bird and said, "leh-low". Jackson and I about fell over! It was awesome! Jackson started running all over their room grabbing yellow things to get her to say it again. It was partly 'cause he's such an awesome brother and partly 'cause it extended bedtime.

whe-uw - where (I couldn't figure out how to spell it phonetically - that's close. She says it and does the sign for where).

pa-puh - paper

Kira speak

Mainly for posterity, I wanted to write down what Kira is saying these days. I'd say 75% of what she says is conversational babble - dispatches from Kira we call them - lots of syllables with plenty of hand gestures and facial expressions to get her message across. 25% is actual speech.

Her communication is probably split evenly three ways words/signs/word sign combos. I'm still teaching her new signs. It's usually easier for me to figure out that she's saying new words when she does the sign along with them.

The List (at 2 1/2 years):

Mommy
Daddy
Buh-Buh or "acks" for Jackson
Poppy
Da-Da (for NaNa)
Pap or Papaw or Pappy
De-De (for NeNe)
Ted

Bat (for Cat)
Eat
Bites
Peetz (Pizza)
She says bites and does the sign for drink when she wants a drink
Pease (please)
"Day" (this is thank you)
No
"es" (Yes)
"top" (Stop)

ooooh....pih-eee (Oh Pretty!) - she says this EVERY time I put her in a dress or skirt and EVERY time I wear a dress or skirt. She's a fan of girly clothes.

box
ball
baby
"bash" (bath)
"beh ee" (belly)
bird
"bish" (fish)
bear (the "r" sound is really soft - more like bea-wuh)
bed
buh-sh (brush - for brush teeth)

up
down

done
Hi
Bye
bye-bye (She uses this exclusively for night-night. She usually hands me her baby and says "bye-bye" and does a sign the she made up. That means I'm supposed to rock the baby and sing it a lullaby.)
diddle diddle - (tickle)

uh-oh (this is a new one and makes me laugh every time)
toas (toast - also new - also funny)
wow (new - and very cute - her lips pooch way out when she says it)

"Oat - Ot - Oat" - this is what she says when she's counting. We're working on LOTS of counting right now, so hopefully I'll start hearing more number like words soon. I know that she's "counting" when she says it.

She "counts" while squatting down and then says "bat - ot" and jumps up - that's BLAST-OFF!

ide (hide)
BOO!

"moh" - more

eyes
"ose" - nose - sometimes she'll enunciate the "n"
boush (mouth)

urt (hurt)

bants (pants)

tee-tee
poo-poo
and lots of singing about both

"bos" - this is music and has been for a long time. She says it along with the sign for music.

read
books - take most of the "k" sound out, though

"bot" - dog (along with the sign)

"ut" - hug
"tiss" - kiss

"out-ide" - outside

"oh-wee" - swing - along with a sign that she made up. She also uses this when she's trying to get me to let her do outside related play stuff - like sliding or using the riding toys. She's starting to say "ide" for slide and we made up a sign - but "oh-wee" is still her go to for slide.

"i-brah" - Library - she says this when we say "Daddy is at work" or if I ask her if she's going to work. She says it along with the sign for Library.

"ite" - this is, I think, "I talk" - she consistently says this when she's reaching for the phone.
"ice" - this is, I think, "I see" - she consistently says this when you're holding something that she wants a closer look at.

"ooo-ooo-wee" along with the sign for train - she uses this for things that go - trains, cars, motorcycles.

Moo - for cow and for most animal sounds - she does have a hacking/coughing sound that's quacking.

"atch" - watch
Boo-boo - Blue from Blue's clues

ipe - wipe (baby wipe)

That's all of the individual words I can think of right now. She frequently uses two words combos of any of them and is starting to put together some three word combos.

What I really love is that she's so efficient in her word usage. I generally know what she's asking for and she rarely has problems communicating her needs. I am so thankful for that.

She also has her first joke. She likes to look up really fast and say "OH BIRD!" then look slyly out of the corner of her eyes - that's my cue to say, "Kira! There is no bird up there!" Then she laughs and does it again.

I love this kid so much. I don't even have the words.

this 'n that

Mainly just some stuff I don't want to forget.

I was tucking Jackson into bed the other night. I had my hair in a bun and he asked me take it down. I did and he said, "You look more like a Wendy like that."

His new thing is to request an appetizer before dinner, "something like goldfish crackers". He also likes to ask me for a snack and when I say, "what would you like?", he usually replies, "something that's not good for me."

Kira has started calling me "Mommy." She's been calling me Mama for quite awhile. So, now it's Mama - just day to day. Mommy when she's being sweet or sad (very staged). And sometimes, I get to hear "MOM!!!" screamed at the top of her lungs - when she wants something or when she's had all she can take of her brother.

She's really into make-believe play, lately. She was playing in Jackson's police car. She got out and came over to me and did the sign for work. I said, "Oh, are you going to work?". She nodded yes, got back in the car and said "Bye -bye!".

She rarely uses her big high chair. (She usually sits in our Ikea chair that pulls right up to the table.) I have the high chair set really low, because she likes to climb into it. She put her baby into it the other day and started saying, "bites? bites!". So, I ran and got a baby spoon and bowl from the kitchen. She fed that baby bites for 10 minutes.

On Friday, I was working in the kitchen and heard Kira singing, "row, row, row." I looked over the edge of the bar and she had her new bunny, a duck, and her baby all lined up. She would sing and then clap and shout "YAY!!" and then hug them all. It also sounded like she was trying to say "good job" which is what I always say to her.

She has also mastered the art of "please." She LOVES Blue's clues. We don't have cable, so we check "bloo bloo" out from the library. The other morning she wanted to "atch bloo bloo." I didn't know that Derek had taken the dvd back to the library. So, first she says "atch bloo bloo." I go to check the spot, no bloo bloo. "I'm sorry, baby. I don't have Blue." Then she points to the spot on the shelf where it SHOULD be - "atch bloo bloo atch bloo bloo". "Baby, I don't have it." Then she just throws her head back, "P-e-e-e-e-e-ase!"

Luckily it was a storytime day, so we headed straight for the dvd shelf at the Library. I handed her the dvd and she said, "Ah bloo bloo!". Crisis averted.

Kira is also now saying, "NO." And she means it, believe me.

Jackson just blew through all of his milestones so quickly. It is so much fun to watch Kira's skills develop, especially her language skills. Jackson went from babbling to complete sentences in 2.5 seconds. Actually getting to appreciate each little unfolding piece of a new skill is such a blessing.

And finally, some pics just because. (Super windy day at the park a couple of weeks ago)

Easter - ahhh sugar sugar

Our Easter weekend was lovely. We spent Saturday and Sunday at my in-laws. The bunny hopped as expected and the kids were pleased with their haul. We weren't able to get one decent shot of the kids in their Easter clothes though. I hope my FIL had better luck.

The kids wore comfy clothes while they waited for dinner. They changed into their finery before we ate.

Here's Jackson munching on candy.

We call this look "stink face."

Kira signing "candy."

Closest thing to a decent shot

Sweet Feet

Little girl

Handsome boy

Kira after falling on her bottom trying to get off of the window seat.

I love how she daintily sucks her thumb.

(The random foot belongs to my niece - her parents don't want her all over the internet, though. Can you imagine?)

I know how you feel, son.

If my FIL ends up with some decent shots, I'll post those later. Hope everyone had a wonderful day!