Dates are not always accurate, as in some of the things Joseph started doing well before I finally wrote them down, but they’re not more than a month or so off.
Aug 16: Joseph points to things he wants and then asks for them politely by signing his “please/I want/yes/etc.” sign of clapping his hands. Is that his first sentence? This was also the first day back from vacation and we went right back into EC and had no misses (just one in his diaper after his nap). The following days weren’t so good, but he hasn’t forgotten everything.
Aug 23: Joseph is in an annoying phase that shows his understanding of the forbidden. When he does something he’s not supposed to he says “nei, nei, nei” (German “nein” for no). On the one hand, it gives me a clue if I’m in another room that he’s doing something naughty, but on he other, he still does the thing he’s not supposed to! Yet phases come and go quickly, now (Sept. 4) he is much better at obeying my vocal commands, though he still needs constant reminders. Funny how just a few months ago it seemed impossible to teach him to obey. Something worked, maybe!
Joseph has added a number of signs and words to his vocabulary. His sign for cheese (he’s a Swiss boy!) is to rub his palms together in the direction of his fingers back and forth, which is not far from the real sign, which is more of a twisting motion. He makes a tired sigh and places his hands on the sides of his head to say “nap, bedtime, sleep, etc.” It’s so cute. He signs a sort of “finished/play” sign when he is done eating and wants to get out of his highchair. This is nice because he doesn’t do as much standing up in his chair as before and we can tell him to sit down and tell us if he wants to get out of his chair. He sort of signs read, but it’s not so clear. Sometimes it’s like his clapping (which is sometimes a finger pointing to his palm rather than clapping) and the sign for cheese one after the other, which looks a bit like “read book” but it’s not consistent. What is consistent is that he always wants us to read him books when he’s on the potty.
Spoken words are still behind, but he now says amen after we pray. It sounds like “may may” most of the time. It’s SO cute!
Aug 26: Joseph climbed in and out of his stroller. He’s now quite good at it and is getting rather bold with his adventures. He loves being out of the apartment and climbing around on the stairs or in the gravel out front. Often I can read a book while he does this but he can never get enough of it, asking to go outside almost as soon as we come in from being outside for a long while.
He’s walking more and more, but he’s still quite cautious about it. He waves “hi” and “bye.”
Aug 29: He’s gotten more snuggly with age, which I must say I appreciate. He’ll rest his head on my shoulder and give us hugs. It was hard caring for him so much and getting so little physically affection, so I am very much enjoying this stage where he’s happy to just sit in my lap for a few minutes.
Aug 31: At the end of our family Bible reading today Joseph said “amen” with us and it was so cute that Stephan wanted to hear it again so he said “And all God’s people said . . .” (we used to do this in middle school, the answer was supposed to be “hush” and it was to get our attention – it worked) and without skipping a beat Joseph said “minyum minyum!” I don’t know if I’ve written it, but it has long been his word for food.
In the other news, I brought back a dairy making kit from the states and I’ve been having fun experimenting with different products. I’ve made butter and butter milk, yogurt, lemon cheese, sour cream, and mascarpone with moderate success and so far only the cream cheese and the kefir has been a flop. It’s somehow very fun and satisfying to make staples like butter and yogurt yourself.
