Funny Boy

This is the book he pulled off the shelf.
Look out ladies!

Felix is so funny with his signing. There are some signs I have been using for months and months and Felix still hasn't started to use them yet. There are others which I have only shown him a few times and he has already picked them up. I love it. It's like a complete surprise every time he starts using a new one because I never know what it's going to be.

Yesterday, Felix was sitting up in our bed with us and we were playing with him. He stopped and looked up, listening as a motorbike rode past our house out in the scrub. Immediately he signed 'motorbike'. I was a little bit dumbfounded because I only taught him how to sign it a few days ago when he was sitting on Nathan's bike and having some photos taken. I couldn't believe he knew just from the sound, that it was a motorbike. Wow!

I LOVE being an Uncle!

Sometimes Felix signs something to me and I'm not 100% sure what he's trying to tell me. Being only 20 months old, his fingers and hands are still learning how to make really precise movements. For example, to say the word 'naughty' (in Auslan sign language), you tap the fingers of your right hand over the back of the wrist of your left hand twice as if you are scolding someone. Felix hasn't quite got the hang of which way up his hands have to be yet, so instead he will clap his hands twice. It is the same with the word 'cat'. You stroke the back of your left hand with your right in an upward motion. Felix strokes the palm of his hand instead of the back of it. He is so patient with us. He repeats the sign over and over (and sometimes helps us by pointing to what he wants) until we work out what he's saying. Once we know the word he's saying, the sign makes perfect sense. Sometimes I think we learn much slower than he does.

You're a little bit scary, Noah

Late this afternoon, our little Grandson, Noah, was wide awake and full of smiles so I got a few photos of him and Felix together. I tried to sit Noah on Felix's lap but he's still a little bit wary of him, which is pretty adorable really. As soon as Noah was lowered onto his lap, Felix pushed him away. He was happy to sit next to him, though, and touch him and rub him on the head which was gorgeous. Felix held Noah's little hand and studied his fingers. There were lots of  "Ahhhh" sounds as he gently stroked him. He's an awesome little Uncle!

The absolute highlight of today for me was when Felix looked at me and said "Mum". Not Mum-um-um like baby babble; it was a definite "Mum" with an emphasis on the last 'M'. Over the course of the day, we asked him, "Felix, can you say Mum?" He would look at me and say, "Um, um, um," Trying really hard, until he finally said, "Mmmmmm, Mum"      Didn't think it was possible for him to melt my heart any more x x x

This is the Auslan
sign for 'Cat'

This is the sign for
'Naughty'