Food Please!

Right before we left for California, you realized those funny motions I was always making with my hands had meaning (baby sign language) and you do a perfect "food" sign, complete with yum sounds. By the end of the trip, you were able to put that and "please" together, so sometimes you would sign "food, please". Manners are a truly great thing, and so is communication. Well, mostly. Right after you learned the sign for food you began using it. A lot. First thing when you wake up in the morning, you're asking for food. When I'm eating something, you ask for food. There's no question what you're thinking.

You can also sign for "flower", although the sound you make is more heavy breathing than sniffing. And you're almost past thinking part of the sign is to eat the flower that I put in your hand.

On the other side of the spectrum, you have started to have mini tantrums. They only last for a few seconds, but they happen pretty often. You stamp your feet, flail your hands, and add annoyed sputtering. It happens the most often when I won't let you go where you want to go, like ... up to the alter during the church service. Today at gymnastics, you could have 3 or 4 in the space of 2 minutes (of course, you were a little tired too). The mom next to me was staring at us, perhaps just hoping it wasn't catching.

You did well in gymnastics this time; you remembered the rolls and donkey kicks and let me move your body to the correct position. Every 10 minutes or so I let you just free range for a few minutes, then I'd gather you back up and we'd work along with the class for a while, then a break again. You like the running and hopping, but aren't sure what to do with the balance beam and would rather pick up the hula-hoops than do donkey-kicks in them.