When I was in college I spent all but one semester working in a childcare center that was located in the on-campus lab school. After a day of classes, reports, or exams it was nice to go and hang out with some kiddos. One semester was spent in the company of two year olds who are, oddly enough, old enough now to be in college themselves. YIKES! The remainder of my employed time was spent in the Infant Room.While working in the Infant Room I was introduced to the use of sign language as a precursor to verbal communication which infants, obviously, are not yet ready for. What they could not say with words, they were able to say with their hands leading to much happier, tantrum-free babies. I am not sure how revolutionary the idea was back then but it was new to me. By the time those little ones moved up to the Toddler Room they were able to sign words like please, thank you, more, milk, cookie, and finished. Unlike in other classrooms I have been in, these children were quite calm and content.
I graduated from college in December of 1995. Hard to believe that it has been fifteen years. Can that much time have really gone by? The skills that I learned back then are coming in quite handy with Cameron now. I started signing to him early on with the expectation that his eager-to-learn mind would start putting it all together as he matured. In the past couple of weeks, my efforts have begun to show leaving Chris and I picking our jaws up off the floor because of our son's genius. Hey now, I waited a long time to brag on my child... now is as good a time as any.
I'm not alone in my signing efforts and give much credit to a DVD series called "Baby Signing Time". Rachel is the hostess and with the help of her animated friends Alex, Leah, and Hopkins she creatively teaches everyday word signs through song and example. Many of the signs that Cameron has been exposed to have been making an appearance not only from his hands but clearly from his understanding. For example, the use of the sign for "more" along with "please" has made an appearance in anything from snack time to toys. As I mixed his bottle one afternoon he watched and then made the sign for "milk." He shocked me the other day when, after pushing a button on a toy that makes a barking sound, he signed the word for "dog." I did not prompt him and had no idea what he was doing until my sluggish adult brain caught up. Infant minds simply amaze me!
Cameron is not only learning how to say with his hands what his mouth is not yet able to pronounce BUT the DVD is also encouraging him to attempt words verbally. Imagine my surprise when instead of signing "banana" Cameron said it out loud. Okay, so it came out more like "nana" but that is close enough at this stage of development. Suddenly he is trying all sorts of new words like "up" (which comes out as "pup"), duck, quack, ick (in which he really likes the sound the "ck" makes), dog, "nigh nigh" (for going to sleep) and grandma (or something that sounds close). There is still plenty of the baby babbling going on but I must admit that Chris and I are loving every minute of watching our son learn and grow.
Perhaps I sound like many other mother's out there in my joy of this time. There may even be some readers out there who feel that our experiences with Cameron are not worthy of the blogosphere. I would have to disagree and I'll tell you why. After we sent out our Christmas Card and Letter this past December, we received an email from our case worker at the adoption agency. She wanted to ask our permission to use that letter when counseling women considering abortion. Chris, Cameron and I are but one adoption story out there in the world today that show how important life is. How much joy there is in it to be found. Because Cameron's birth mom chose life, Chris and I were able to have the family we had longed for AND the world is now blessed with an amazing human being. What she did was no small thing given today's options and her circumstances. We will never take here sacrifice for granted. This blog is a recording of our adoption story and perhaps, and we may never know, it will encourage someone to choose life. Even if you are not ready to be a parent, there are so many of us out there who long to raise and love a child and have not the chance. There are no human words, signed or said out loud, that express just how grateful we are and what a miracle you can be. So to all you birth mom's out there.... Thank You!
