Sign away!

As most of you know, we've been trying to teach Brianna sign language. The whole point behind this is that it reduces the frustration a child feels by not  being able to communicate what they want or need. We thought it was a great idea but Brianna is learning to talk so quickly it kind of defeats the purpose. Oh well! At least she'll learn some of another language. When we told people we were going to teach Brianna sign language we got a lot of criticism. For some reason, some thought it would delay her speaking. Wrong! Anyhow, Brianna finally started signing. She's been signing 'milk' for a while now but today she signed signs she's never signed before like a pro. (Try saying that sentence 3 times fast.) She walks up to Dixie (our bird) and says bird while signing it at the same time. All day today she kept patting her belly. I had no idea what she was doing. Then, while I was giving her a bath, Bruizer (dog) started going nuts barking and Brianna looked at me and her eyes got real big and she started patting her belly. It all made sense! The actual sign for dog is to pat your leg and then snap . Close enough for me! When I fed her dinner tonight she signed 'more' 3 times. Then she just sat there staring at me. I asked her if she wanted more and she said, "na", turned her head and signed 'all done'! I couldn't believe my eyes! My child is a genius. I still have to get her singing twinkle twinkle little star on video. She sings "up above da"...then we have to finish the song. She makes me so happy! Ugh, I wish I could bottle these feelings up and save them forever!

Brianna's getting much better at swimming. She kicks her feat like a maniac, goes under water like a fish, and floats on her back without my hand under her for a few seconds. I think she might be able to swim by the end of the summer. She's always smiling when she's in the pool. She loves the water. It's in her blood! I started going into labor in Philipe's parents pool so it's only natural that she enjoys it so much.

Yesterday, we went out on Philipe's parents boat. Brianna loved it, as to be expected. We got some really cute pictures  but they're on Deanna's (MIL) camera so as soon as I get them I will post them. 

Still here

I know. I have totally neglected my blog for the last week and a half. We have been so busy lately I'm lucky if I even get to do the laundry! And I'm pretty sure Brianna is getting ready to cut 2 more teeth so she is requiring my undivided attention ALL THE TIME. I got her this super cute homeopathic teething necklace. I'll have to take pictures of her with her necklace later and post them. Not a whole lot new to report. Just staying busy. Now that Brianna is so mobile we have to find new things to do with her everyday. She goes nuts if she's in the house all day. She's just like her father! I would kill to be a bum on the couch for 1 day. She keeps me on my toes. Oh! We did buy a pretty big pool for the back yard. Bri loves it! I took a bunch of pictures but decided not to post them because Brianna is nude and there are a lot of sicko's out there that get of on that kind of stuff. So, one day I'll try to remember to put a bathing suit on her and take pics.

A couple weeks ago, I took some pictures of Brianna in the tub. My parents took this same picture of me when I was about Brianna's age and I think they look almost identical. I'll have to go through all my pictures and try to find it. Brianna loves her tubby time.

We got Brianna a bag of 100 balls from Walmart. We copied a friend of ours and blew up a pool and put all the balls in it. The pool of balls is Brianna's new favorite place to hang out. She'll sit in there and read a book for a good 15 minutes. Philipe jokes around and calls her a book nerd. He says when she starts school we're going to have to get her a pocket protector. She is so smart! I'll have to record her reading Dr. Seuss's, Hop on Pop. I'm tellin' ya, she can read that whole book. It's very impressive. 

For the 4th of July we went to Philipe's parents house. We had a really good time. Brianna loved the fireworks. 

Uncle Chris and Daddy thought it would be funny to give Brianna some "props" for a picture. I thought it was pretty funny myself.

On Tuesday Philipe, Brianna, and I went to a sign language class that the Indian River County library has. I liked it. Brianna enjoyed it. Philipe didn't care for it to much. He thought it was to advanced for ages 0-18 months.  I agree but Brianna really enjoyed the play time afterwards and it gives us something to do to get out of the house. After the class we went to Publix, got some subs, and headed to the Marine Center. It's free on Tuesdays. We really enjoyed it. It was nice to something fun as a family and not break our pockets. Brianna loved looking at the fish. She tries to say it and sign it too. She throws her hand out and says "ish"! Pretty darn cute.

And for one of my proudest moments.....Brianna can dribble a soccer ball. This clip is about a month old. She's gotten even better. I must say, I am the proudest mommy in the whole world. Life could not get any better! Well, the only thing that could top it off is if Brianna would sleep through the night but I don't see that happening anytime soon. 

Soccer is in her blood. She's a natural! Check it out....

Well, that's all for now.