Baby Signing Time

**This picture was taken off of the Signing Time Website**

I truly believe baby sign language is a great way to get passed the communication barrier with your baby and toddler. We used baby sign language with W, and it was our saving grace. W picked up on it very early (around 8 months) with his first sign being "all done". A few months after that, he was signing "more", "please", "thank you", "milk", "ball", "drink", "eat", etc. It was nice being able to communicate with him, because he didn't get as frustrated when it came to getting him what he wanted.

P-man received "Baby Signing Time" for Christmas from Jess and I, and we watch it almost every day. We just love all the songs and how they put all the signs together, for example: signs for eat, drink, please, more, juice, cereal, etc are all in the same section and song, the same goes with animals. It makes it easy for the both of us to learn and remember each sign. Plus, Rachel does a great job keeping the attention of not only P-man, but his older brother as well.

I have nothing bad to say about this video, and can't wait to order the rest of the volume's (we only have the 1st volume). Feel free to check out their website: Signing Time. They have more than just videos, so definitely check them out. You definitely have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain. It's such a relief being able to overcome the communication barrier with P-man.

Oh, I also wanted to point out that using sign language with your baby/toddler will not DELAY their speech. In fact, I believe it helped W talk at an earlier age. At 15 months, he was already using more than 20 words and some two word sentences.

Here is P-man signing, "all done".

**This review comes directly from my own personal experiences and my opinion is that of my own. I was not paid or compensated in any form for this review. This video was purchased by me.**

Okay, it's been a while....

I really need to get back to blogging, but it's been difficult to sit down and type. Jess came home on his mid tour, so I definitely didn't have time to get on. Then, not even a few days after Jess left, W came down with a bad cold, which turned into a bad sinus infection. The dog also had a bad case of diarrhea that needed to be treated with antibiotics.....this is like the third time of them both being on antibiotics at the same time..... I don't know how mom's of multiples does it. Anyway, I thought I'd break away from taking a nap and type a quick blog before W wakes up from his nap.

I'm slowly starting to get back into the working out scene again after taking a break while W and the dog got better. I was going five days a week for 1.5 hours +. I've been going back to the gym three days a week now for 1.5 hours. I'm hoping once W is 100%, I'll be able to go five days again. I'm trying to lose another 25-30 lbs before my brother-in-law's wedding/graduation in May. I really want to look good on my husband's arm, because this will only be my 3rd time back to Virginia, and my 1st time meeting many of my husband's family and friends. This will also be W's first time to his daddy's hometown, and we're so excited to show him many things about the great state of Virginia. We were hoping to bring along some good news with us, but God decided now wasn't the right time. Yep you guessed it, Jesse and I tried for baby #2 while he was home on leave. It would have been okay timing (I would've been 9 months preggo at the time of all these family festivities in Virginia), but I was really looking forward to not only a June baby, but a baby brother or sister for W. I've been a big believer in things happening for a reason, and I just think the good Lord upstairs wanted Jess to be here 100% for not only me, but for W during my pregnancy. We hope to continue trying when he comes home in Feb. hoping and praying for a November baby.

W's definitely getting bigger and smarter by the minute. I can't get over the new things he learns every day. We're still using baby signs, but his vocabulary is growing so much he doesn't seem to rely on the sign language to communicate with us. Here are the list of words W speaks to us daily:

• Mommy
• Papa
• Daddy
  Doggie
  Kitty
  "phutball" a.k.a Football
  "butch down" a.k.a Touchdown
  Car
  Truck
  "Ca Ca" a.k.a Tractor
  Ball
  "eese" a.k.a Reese
  Eat
  Bye
  Hi
  Juice
  Baby
  "ilk" a.k.a Milk
  "loon" a.k.a Balloon
  Nona
  Bear
• Katie
• Cracker

We have our 18 month appointment coming up, so we'll see how great he's doing learning and growing wise. Oh, yes, and I forgot to add I have a climber. Yep, W loves to climb on everything. The other day I was putting dishes in the dishwasher, and W pushed Reese's kennel to the table, crawled on top of that, and then onto the table. He about gave mommy a heart attack.

Moving day is coming up quickly, and it's starting to hit home a little bit for me. I'm so anxious to get my family of three back together, and explore a new city. However, my comfort zone is going to be so far away and in the hearts of my family back in Nebraska. I'm just so thankful I have such a wonderful family to help me not only move, but paint, unpack, help with W, and help adjust me to a new city. I decided to move with out Jesse, because I want to enjoy his homecoming, and make the transition from an international duty station to his new one an easy and comfortable one. The big "M" day is set for Jan. 20th. I have the government moving our things around the 16th of January, so not only are the holidays going to be busy with shopping and seeing family, but preparing for a huge move to the great state of Ohio. Oh, and no, we will not become Buckeye fans. LOL! Here are a few pictures of our new residence in Ohio:

I'm going to save our Halloween adventure for tomorrow's post. I really need to get off and get some stuff done around the house. We were stuck inside this past weekend due to the Stomach flu visiting our house, so I have a bunch of cleaning to do. You gotta love disinfecting a house. YAY! Could you feel the sarcasm. LOL!

Weightloss...Oh My

Wow, I can't believe it's been two months since I've really blogged....I know I've been bad. Ever since summer started, W and I have been extremely busy. We go to the local pool once a week, and we're out at our cabin at the lake every weekend. It's nice being out on the lake with the warm summer sun hitting your face, and feeling the soft summer breeze. Oh, and having a jetski to ride is a definite plus! W is almost 14 months old, and is pretty close to walking full time....he still prefers the crawl as his method of transportation. I honestly don't blame him...it takes him 1/2 the time to get to his toys if he crawls. LOL! He can stand alone w/o assistance, and the face he makes is priceless....you can really tell his proud of himself (and so is mommy and daddy). I'm trying to think of what else he's been doing... he loves to talk in his own baby language and sign "doggie", so we're up to four signs learned. He says dada, mama, nona, papa, and "ilk" for milk. The one thing that's really impressed me is how good W's memory is.... the other day during a diaper change I went and waved my hand back and forth and went "stinky, stinky", and the next poopy diaper change, he was able to wave his hand back and forth. W definitely enjoys mocking everyone...it's the cutest thing.

I've been doing good...I can't believe it's been 5 months since Jess left for Korea.... he comes home in 51 days, and I'm so excited. I can't wait to run to him as soon as he gets off the plane and jump into his arms and lay the biggest kiss on his lips. I get a little butterfly in my stomach when I think about it. I've also been hitting the gym pretty hard core. Before Jess left, we decided to join the local YMCA. I've been working out 5 times a week anywhere between 1.5-2.0 hours. I usually do at least 60 min. of cardio, and 45-60 min. of weight training. I really do enjoy their classes at the Y....my fav. being bootcamp...oh and of course power pump! I've lost about 30 lbs to date, but I'll get a little more of an accurate weight loss when I visit my O.B. tomorrow. Here is a before and after picture of my weight loss.


Before, 8/4/07:





After, 7/8/08:





I'll make sure I keep you all updated on my weight loss progress. It really feels good to have some confidence back. I can't wait to show Jess the new me. My next goal is another 30 lbs, and I'm hoping to lose it before Jess comes home for good in Feb. :)