The Year of F

While reading Rachel Coleman's (from Signing Time) blog post about making 2010 the year of ...

http://www.rachelcoleman.com/2010/01/25/creating-the-year-2010/#more-2283

I decided to make this the year of F. All sorts of Fun things start with F.

Friends

First I want to say a big Thank you to our Friends Riann and Melissa. A week or so ago they offered to take Zoe for the night and we quickly said "yes!" As I have posted before, Zoe's sleep issues have escalated in recent months and we are exhausted.

Melissa lives in a condo and therefore booked us a guest suite. Her and Riann cooked dinner and then kicked us out. Riann knows Zoe very well since she used to be Zoe's respite worker. So we were totally comfortable leaving Zoe with them for the night.

Thank you- we really appreciate the support!!!!!

Fun

We have definitely had lots of Fun this year so far. One Fun development has been Zoe's advance in communication. Although she still only uses about 20 signs, she gets her point across and even tells jokes!

Zoe's Complex Thought:

While getting Zoe ready for bed, I was talking about how I would bring Zoe to school in the morning. Zoe responded by signing "daddy." I then explained, "Daddy will be at home tomorrow and I will bring you to school."

Zoe then did a series of signs that amazed us:

daddy sleeping zoe school friends

Zoe, did you just say, "Daddy will be sleeping and you will go to school to play with your friends?"

Big smile and repeat "daddy sleeping zoe school friends"

Friends is a new sign and as Zoe signed it she actually held her hands up to look to see if she interlocked her fingers the right way.

I encouraged Zoe to tell us more but she just smiled and signed,

Zoe all done sleep

I think it is hilarious that Zoe will always sign "daddy sleeping" if Gavin is at home. As if that is what he does all day- he wishes!

Zoe's Joke:

Zoe has told some jokes in the past by saying something is the opposite. Examples: a co-worker of mine has a very small dog and Zoe laughs while signing "cat." And of course after Gavin shaved she loved signing "daddy girl."

The other day Zoe told this joke:

Gavin and I were talking and Gavin signed something and included the word crazy. Zoe was in her highchair playing with a toy and I didn't even think she was listening to us. I said, "I don't think that is the sign for crazy. What is the sign for crazy?" Zoe immediately signed, "daddy." Initially I thought she was just talking to daddy but by the sinister little chuckle I asked her, "Zoe what is the sign for crazy?" and she gave a big smile, signed "daddy" and then laughed so hard she was snorting and could barely breathe. I repeated, "What is the sign for crazy?" And again "daddy" and breathless laughing followed. The third time I asked, Zoe switched the joke up and signed "mommy." I responded by saying, "What! Mommy is not the sign for crazy!" to which Zoe just lost it and kept laughing and laughing.

She is definitely a funny little girl!

Family

A big part of the year of F is definitely Family. We just took a family camping trip for five days and it was great. Zoe is quite the camper. She did great most of the days and was not too stimulated from being outdoors. I will go through the pictures later and post some. Of course it is always hard to pick one or two since she looks so darn cute in all of them!