Dante and I enjoyed a sunset at the beach yesterday evening. He is discovering everything in a whole new way! We've been suspicious for a while that his babblings are more than just baby babble, but on Thursday, 12/15 there was no denying it! He pointed at a ring his Daddy showed me and said clear as day in his high pitched baby voice, "What's that?" "It's a ring, we answered", totally amazed!! Later that night, we watched our favorite video of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" together. At the end, Dante pointed at the owl sitting on a tree branch and said, "What's that?" I said, it's an owl. He said, "Whoo...whoo". I ran into the studio to tell James, "Oh my gosh, Dante's talking!!!!" (Read to the end to watch one of Dante's favorite videos.)
He has now added body language, using the correct American Sign Language markers for asking a question: He turns his palms upward and purses his lips and scrunches his eyebrows, then says, "What is it?" That I never taught him these question markers is testament to the fact that ASL is naturally occurring and not a language convention invented by humans. Being a huge fan of linguistic study, this is such a marvel for me to witness!
At the park Dante swung happily, calling after the sound of the sea gulls and the dogs and watching the few families who were also there to enjoy the sunset spectacle. He pointed down over the edge of the swing, "What's that?"
"It's the ground," I explained. There is a road that boarders the park and we could hear cars driving by from time to time. Dante twisted around in his swing, trying to see what was making the noise, "What is that?" he asked. "It's a car," I replied. Can you say car?" Five minutes later we heard the rumbling of another vehicle go by the park. Without looking, he said, "Car!" for the very first time.
I feel as though the world has flung wide open for Dante as well as for our relationship with him. I can say without a doubt that this is the most fun we've ever had in life: Discovering the world all over with Dante.
Meet Dante's Imaginary Friends: Owl, Moon and, most of all, the Star
("Star" is his new favorite word!)
I couldn't believe when he said "I love you", as clear as day, last time I was there. He is picking up on things sooooo quickly! You should start the piano lessons now.
ReplyDeleteLove ya, Grets
So amazing! And he's said "Thank You" to me twice now! And at the appropriate time!!! And he learned "pretty" and "horsie" and "tree" in the past week...it's so amazing to me!!!! Yesterday was so wonderful seeing his joy and awe!!! Loved it!!
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