13 months, a visit from Erin, and signing

Guilty mom here...Adeline's 13 month birthday came and went and we didn't do an official photoshoot! It's partially because we've been busy, and partially because this girl just isn't a sit-around-and-smile-at-the-camera kind of kid anymore. Luckily, Erin came for a visit and there were tons of smiles to go around and to rec.

Erin, take me for a ride on the nemo mobile!
Momma, that tickles!

Between the weather being cold and Addie's nap schedule still all over the place, it was hard to get out and about, but we managed to hit the mall for some holiday shopping and we went to Old Town Alexandria where Erin and I spent many a day hanging out back in high school.

It was sunny out but the temperature dropped right when we got there, and Addie wasn't adjusting well.

But Aunt Erin showed her some of the planes coming in to nearby National Airport...

...and took her on a walking tour of the Torpedo Factory to warm her up.

And she was back to her adventurous self.

Some more recent cuteness. Addie's friend Reese is such a hugger! Aren't they adorable?


Psst. Wanna go empty out the pots and pans cabinet?

Addie's hair is finally growing a bit, but....not quite enough for a ribbon.

Being goofy with Daddy...as usual :)

And finally, my friend and loyal-blog-follower Steph requested a video of Addie doing sign language. We've been teaching her sign language since she was about 7 months old and while it took her awhile to pick it up, she's now doing a lot of signs. For someone who gets as frustrated as Addie does (yeah, it's hard to see it on the blog because we usually post cute and happy pictures, but Addie's kind of fiesty) it's been a lifesaver to know a few things that she can communicate without words and tears.

A common concern people have around teaching sign language to babies is whether or not having signs will mean they won't need the words and will therefore be delayed verbally. Studies show this isn't true, and in fact many babies who do sign language actually have advanced verbal skills. Who knows?

In any case...the signs that we are teaching Addie are based on American Sign Language (ASL). She has adapted some of them from the original state, but as long as we know what they are, we're not working to correct her to the exact sign. For example, the sign for "bird" is touching your pointer finger to your thumb right in front of your chin--like you have a beak...Addie does a similar motion but just in the air. And Addie's sign for "all done" has evolved from a "get me out of this high chair" desperation more so than the actual sign, but again--we know what she means :).

If you are curious to see what the signs look like, this is a great website: http://www.aslpro.com/cgi-bin/aslpro/aslpro.cgi Just click on "ASL for babies" and choose the word and you'll see a video clip of each sign.

Steve and I have no hesitation of telling anyone who is interested in teaching their baby sign language---DO IT! You will not regret it! At first it seems like you're doing the sign for no reason, there's no semblance of comprehension, then suddenly...boom, they're picking it up left and right. We taught her from a few books and some videos we've checked out from the library. It's great!

So Steph...here you go, a sampling of Addie's signing prowess (both the same video, just different formats)