ask, and you shall receive.

first. go check out my friend. she writes a food blog and shares some great recipes. and some good advice. like, don't cut off your finger. awe inspiring, my friend. her food? de. lic. ious. so check her out. you won't be sorry.

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y'all? my christmas list? almost fulfilled. i mean, "someone" must have sent my letter to joel santa because the next day? i got a tree. and it is half decorated. so, that's a bonus, because decorations? weren't on the list.

plus also? we went to atlanta this weekend and last night? full. nights. sleep. no, joel didn't get up with the baby, or anything. BUT she did sleep all night, and in a pack n play, no less.

so, i'm all giddy that things are happening for me. i should put what i want in print more often. and then beg bribe ask someone to send it to joel. because we all know he doesn't read this without a little prodding (he is supportive of my writing, he just doesn't like hearing stories twice).

as i said before, we went to atlanta this weekend. we went to a carolina/atlanta hockey game thursday night. it was a first for the whole family and i had NO CLUE what was going on. but it was a really exciting game and went into a "slap off", as i called it.....wrongly. of course. like i said, no clue. bella loved it and rocked back and forth when the charge song played (i thought that was for basketball?) or when people were yelling. carolina won, which was pretty exciting. even though we were in the wrong house, we still cheered for them. at first? i thought i might get in a fight. because hockey fans are crazy. but when the guy in front of us tried to fist bump (every single person in the arena) me and i said no? he didn't beat me up. (he was cheering for the wrong team!) so, i actually started to clap when we scored. and when we won? i jumped up. much to the dismay of the drunk group behind me. but, i didn't get throat punched. so. there we go.

the next day, we spent the day exploring the city. we are from charlotte originally, and came to atlanta probably once a year, so we are pretty familiar with all the major tourist landmarks. but this weekend we went to the children's museum with bella. i'm pretty sure that was the most fun day of her little life. it was fun to see her enjoying all of the exhibits. and of course we enjoyed ourselves.....we are two big children. it made me wish we lived closer to the city to be closer to things like that. the macon children's museum was reminiscent of a middle school science fair project. and i have found few places to go for structured classes for the baby (or unstructured classes).

after that, we headed through centennial park for lunch at googey burger. it wasn't too expensive and the veg out burger was PERFECT for bella and me. of course, joel ordered the cheesy chilli fries, you know, to warm up.

we probably only totaled about 6 miles of walking that day, but i love seeing the city as a tourist.

while we were at breakfast friday, bella started signing "milk". i almost didn't recognize it, but i had bought her one of those milk boxes-the horizons ones with the straws, and she drank a little of it, then ate some and then started to open and close her hand. and she did it the rest of the morning. so her repertoire includes "more", "food", "please" and "milk". which is more than i ever thought she would sign.

communication is key

bella made her first sign tonight at dinner. sure, it was for cinnamon butter that joel slipped her when i wasn't looking. but she signed, all the same. she put her two little hands together making the sign for more.

the i gave her a mushroom, and she made the sign again. then she did it for broccoli. and a mum mum. it was all pretty exciting.

we have been working with her for about a month so far. at each meal, about half way through, i ask if she wants more, and do the accompanying sign, then give her more.

we've also been signing "milk", "done", "up", "down" and "please", though "more" has been the one we focused on the most.

i have to be honest. i thought i was wasting my time. i've read about all the benefits of signing, about how it helps curb tantrums by giving them a way to communicate before they can talk. i saw her recognizing the signs when i would do them, but would she really do them? i just couldn't see it. even when she learned "high five" in a matter of about 10 minutes. but that was fun and got an immediate reaction, on OVER reaction, of me jumping up and down and hooting and yelling, "YYAAAAAYYYY!!!!" in a silly high pitched voice. signing, well, the only reward so far has been food........

oh, how she takes after her mother............
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want to sign with your baby? here is a great reference to get started!