The Waldeck Family: June 2009

where's the baby?

Hello everyone!

Quick family update.....I have successfully completed another semester at Columbia and I am happy to say I am OFF for the summer. I just had my 28 week check up and my glucose test. After a second glucose test that lasted about 4 hours, I learned my results came back fantastic. I am feeling bigger everyday and naturally I am pretty tired. Otherwise, I can't complain. I am having another good pregnancy and I am thankful it isn't 100 degrees, yet.

Aubrie is taking a break from daycare since I am home. This gives us an opportunity to spend as much time together as possible before the baby comes. Aubrie seems to understand that a baby is in my belly because she points to my belly and says "baby." However, I am aware that she may just be confused and thinks that's what I call my belly button. While shopping the other day, our friend Tracy asked Aubrie where the baby was and she lifted her own shirt and pointed to her belly button. Either way, it's cute.

Aubrie just had her 1 1/2 year check up, and Dr. Morse said he was incredibly impressed by her. She is chatting constantly and I can't get over how smart she is. My ASL class gave us a sign language kit when she was born, and she actually knows all of the cards already. The kit comes with two books, a music cd (to sign along with), and flash cards that are very easy to follow.

The Sign, Sing, and Play Kit by Monta Z. Briant

http://www.amazon.com/Sign-Sing-Play-Language-Basics/dp/1401907660

The signs she knows amaze me! Including SUN, STARS, LIGHTS, BATH, BUBBLES, BOAT, CHEESE, along with over 100 more and most of the animals that I know the signs for. She also knows all of the basics such as ALL DONE, EAT, MORE, THANK YOU, etc. It is very helpful because as she learns to talk, alot of her words can sound alike. This way, she is talking and signing together so I know when she is saying BALL, BANANA, or BALLOON. (yes, those all sound alike sometimes.) The Dr. was amazed how much she demonstrated naturally during our visit, which caused our appointment to run a bit long because he had so many questions. Every time we leave the house she signs TREE, CAR, FLOWER, BIRD,and AIRPLANE. Another thing is she points to her ear when she hears the birds chirping, or a car beeping.

The best part is when we sit down to read books everyday, she can point to most of the pictures in the books we have and say/sign what it is. I recently realized she enjoys quizzing me as well. When she gets a book out, she brings it to me and sits on my lap. I obviously point to pictures and ask "what's that?" often, because she points to pictures and says "sat." Which I realized is her translation of "what's that." She can identify many animals and the sounds they make, which has made our recent zoo trips alot of fun.

She is able to ask for things and decline things, which cuts down on the tantrums. She is LOVING going to the park and we are learning she is pretty fearless on the play sets. Another favorite of hers is turning on music and dancing around. The majority of the time is spent bouncing around to the music, but she recognizes a few and actually does them the right way. A few of her favorites are Itsy Bitsy Spider, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, and The Wheels on the Bus. And last but not least, she is officially obsessed with Sesame Street, especially Elmo. She has a few Sesame Street toys, but Elmo gets carried around the house. When she doesn't know where he is, she puts both hands to her mouth and shouts "AAAAHHHH-BBBBUUUU." She constantly says DADDY, BOBBY, and AU-BIE, while pointing to the correct person. Bobby, is me...at least she knows who I am. We are working on pronouncing M's. Overall, this is a very exciting stage and we are enjoying every minute of it.

Teaching Grandma ASL

signing EAT

signing BABY

Justin is doing well at his job and still enjoying it. Drill keeps him busy once a month, but it seems like it comes around more often than that. We just celebrated his 29th birthday with a date to see Blue Man Group, which we both really enjoyed. He is also on a softball league with Brian, and they recently won the Championship game. Aside from that, he is busy coming up with witty material for his Facebook status, and in his words "busy being awesome."