Thursday 7 May 2009

One rule fits all

It's quite wonderful to witness this small human learning. He surprises us with something unexpected daily.

On Saturday morning I was lagging a bit. I thought I had covered the basics - fed him breakfast, changed his diaper, closed the right doors, had water and milk within his reach and then settled on the couch to nurse my ailing body while he played around me. A few minutes later he came, stood in front of me and made a hand gesture. I had seen this before but had to think for a second about where. Then it came to me. It was a sign for 'more'. He put his little fingers together and then touched his two hands together. Then he sat down in front of me.

I was delighted! The daycare staff had mentioned that the kids learn some sign language but I had never seen any of it. I glanced over at his sippy cups and noticed the milk one was empty. What a genius I had given birth to!

There have been countless other brilliant little feats too. I don't want to get carried away by listing them all but don't think I wasn't considering it. For instance, you can't imagine the precision with which he is able to indicate the body part I ask for. Bellybutton. Ears. Feet. Tongue. Hair. Some of these he picked up on his own; neither we nor the daycare drilled it into him.

But equally enchanting (to us parents anyway) are instances where we have been trying to teach him something and he finally learns. This was the case with the blowing of a kiss. Whenever one of us left the house the other would show Deaglan how to blow a kiss and wave bye-bye. It took several weeks for this to really materialize but when it did, it was as if we had won some long-standing civil suit or lost enough weight to finally fit back into our highschool jeans. Now when grandparents visit they are treated to a goodbye wave and a sailing kiss.

But our jubilation was slightly short-lived when on Monday, Deaglan seeing the neighbour across the street getting into his Ford Explorer and pulling out of the driveway, began to wave and blow kisses. In the parking lot of the doctor's office, he felt it was appropriate to blow kisses to the construction workers who were getting into their trucks to go for lunch. On our drivehome from work and daycare, he blows kisses to anyone passing by.

I guess we could learn a lot from his love thy neighbour attitude!

18 comments:

  1. Ah yes! I can relate. But in all fairness, I have tamed myself down alot lately!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such a lovely post! I remember those joys!!! All the best to you as you delight in your treasure!!! Janine XO

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awww!! What a little sweetheart!

    ReplyDelete
  4. So sweet.

    Our little one's favorite sign for the longest time was "more". Now it's "please" - how can one resist such a polite child?!?

    Little ones blowing kisses are SO charming!

    ReplyDelete
  5. So sweet of him to blow kisses at everyone!He is making their day :D!!

    ♥ chaitra

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is so sweet. It is amazing to watch your child learn. They are always so much more capable than I give them credit for.

    One of my favorite parenting milestones so far was watching my girls learn how to read. It was like the whole world opened up to them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Everyone loves kisses! I bet he would have even made some of those construction workers grin if they saw him. Enjoy all the special moments! He is truely amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. How sweet!! Your little one sure is smart! :)
    I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend - enjoy your Mother's Day and take lots of pictures of Deaglan's baptism.

    ReplyDelete
  9. awww.... so sweet! What a little sweetheart!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I can relate! My daughter was the same way with blowing kisses to EVERYONE...she was also the same way with saying "Hi" to almost every person we would pass in a store!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I know an 80 year old woman who still blows kisses to just about everyone. She's a joy to be around. You do have a genius!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Such a sweet post, Kim! I love when they reach all these learning milestones. Blowing kisses to everyone is adorable. It must put a smile on so many faces :) It's amazing how all of a sudden the little ones find ways to communicate affection. It's such a wonderful time in the life of a child. Enjoy every minute! They become teenagers before you know it!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. what a sweet thing...i'd love to be Deaglan's neighbor and get a 'kiss' when i leave!

    i, too, love those little milestones and seeing the wheels turn when our kids learn something new.

    what a lovely post!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Kim! I left you an award on my blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Kim, I love this picture. What a cute little "peanut". Aren't children amazing. They are pure genius.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yes, we ARE so blessed. I have to learn to enjoy MY time.

    I like this picture too. He took it himself. I cannot keep my camera out of his hands! :) Have a blessed day.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Way cool. I had actually forgotten that I taught both of my kids "baby signs" around 9 mos., and they used it until they were 18ish months? I can't remember anymore, but it alleviated a lot of communication frustration since one-year-olds (and younger) know what they want to convey but can't talk yet. We had signs for more, thirsty, hungry, all done, etc.....

    I don't know whether it's related, but both boys were reading by the time they were 3 1/2 - 4... so I think it's good for their brains, too!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Aren't they funny when they learn something new and then apply it liberally to every aspect of their lives?

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment!