Replaceable

Today Bitty and I enjoyed the beautiful weather with a picnic at a park, just the two of us.  It was perfect.  It was so quiet and peaceful, as we were the only ones there.  The main attraction of this park is a lovely rose garden, and the last of the summer blooms greeted us with their dazzling color.  We listened to the birds chirping and felt the breeze brush over us.  I watched as Bitty crawled through the grass, every so often turning to look back at me as if to say, "Can I keep going, mama?"  She doesn't get to do this much--the landscape around our townhome is filled with some type of bugs that feast on us both like we're their last meal.  She was very interested in the sensory experience of the prickly green grass beneath her, and at one point stopped and spent a good fifteen minutes pulling clumps of it out of the ground, until finally she decided to take a bite of the soil wrapped around the roots.  Judging from the look upon her face afterwards, I don't think she'll be doing that again.

We returned home and I carried my sleepy baby to the front door, and as I got my key out, she suddenly perked up and started huffing a breathy "huh huh huh huh huh."  She continued as we walked inside, where the dogs, as they always do, welcomed us home with their excited panting, "huh huh huh huh."  And it clicked!  Bitty anticipated the dogs' reaction and was mimicing them!  I was so amazed!  I bent down with Bitty to the dogs' level, and the four of us shared a moment of panting together, which Bitty found extraordinarily amusing. 

As I took her upstairs to get ready for her nap, I thought about my efforts to teach Bitty sign language.It has been discouraging; she is always interested in her toy, or her food, or her sippy cup whenever I'm trying to sign ball or eat or more or drink. I was beginning to think that it was all pointless, that she clearly wasn't ready to communicate in this way.  But now, I started to think that maybe I was pointless.  Lucy and Riley taught Bitty her first sign.  The dogs are better at this than I am.   

Lucy and Riley will be charging $45 an hour to conduct sign language lessons with your baby.  Group discounts are available.  Please call to schedule your appointment today.