Two-word sentences!

Signing "Asleep"

Felix woke bright and early as usual this morning. When he came into our room for cuddles, he noticed one of our dogs still asleep on the floor. Straight away he looked at me with big eyes and signed, "Dog, Asleep". His first two word sentence!! To say I was proud of him is a huge understatement. I was so excited! It's wonderful when he signs new words, but to be able to put two of them together to explain something to me was huge. It makes me cry just thinking about it.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, he put two more words together in the afternoon. He was signing "More" and so I asked him, "More what, Felix?" He then signed "More, Eat". He then beamed a huge smile when I went and got him a snack. He looked so satisfied that I had understood what he was telling me and he had got what he asked for. Isn't communication wonderful? I'm learning more and more that communication is so much more than just the spoken word.

In the last couple of days Felix has also learnt to point. A simple skill for most 'typical' children, one that is usually grasped well within the first year of life. It's something which has taken Felix a little bit longer. Until now, he has pressed buttons on toys with his thumb, or pointed out of the window with his whole hand. He has finally mastered the ability to point at things with his finger fully extended. I think he's quite pleased with his new skill too because he spent a lot of today getting our attention and then pointing to different things.

Felix and his buddy, Jacob

Felix had his little buddy, Jacob, come to visit today. Jacob is 4 months younger than Felix and also has Down Syndrome. They don't get to see each other much anymore since the time for our Playgroup has changed, so it was nice for them to have a play. It's exciting to see that Jacob can now sit himself up from laying on his tummy, and he get up on all fours in the crawling position as well. It won't be long until he's chasing Felix around. Jacob and Felix played so well. Felix held out the ball to him and said, "Ah" (Ta) and gave Jacob the ball. Then Jacob would lean towards Felix and give the ball back. They passed the ball back and forward to each other for a while. It was very special to watch our boys sharing so well, and learning through their play.

I'd like to wish our gorgeous son, Isaiah, a very happy 14th birthday today. Isaiah reads my blog every day and is such a strong supporter of Felix and others with Down Syndrome. He is such a wonderful big brother to Felix. We are so proud of you mate and love you so very much x x x