What do you see in these sounds?

Lately, BG has been "talking" a lot. That is, she makes "ooh" and "aah" noises with some regularity. She certainly isn't talking... that would be, well, miraculous. But she's vocalizing, that's for sure. It's pretty neat to watch her make noises. She looks like she wants to tell you something, like she's having a good time, or that something is neat. Or tastes good. Lord knows just about everything goes into her mouth these days. But who knows what she's really thinking?

My wife and I got some of the baby sign language books and DVDs for Christmas and I think we're going to give that a try. It certainly seems reasonable. The theory is that children gain comprehension skills before they have the motor skills necessary to speak. So they can understand you, but they cannot verbalize their needs. That's where the sign language comes in. It's based on ASL (American Sign Language) and most babies have the motor skills to make the signs long before they can talk. Pretty cool, eh?

Anyway, I know that I cannot imagine how frustrating it would be to want to communicate, but lack the ability. It would drive me nuts, so maybe it bothers babies, too? I don't know. But it can't hurt. It will still be a while until she's developed enough to do the sign language, but I can probably use the extra practice time myself.