Speak Soon?

Today George actually said Mama in a way that suggested he knows what it means! A momentous occasion indeed, after months and months of "Daddy". Although that is still his favourite word, and Daddy has found a new game to amuse himself with. He asks George leading questions like "Who is more fun, George - Mummy or Daddy?" To which George of course replies "Daddy". But I can play him at his own game by asking George "Who do you want to change your very smelly nappy, George - Mummy or Daddy?"

George's signing has also come on apace - although it must be said that some of the signs are quite customised. We now get versions of "dog" and "cat" and "car" and "home" and "pig" and "plane" and even "more" - although I am not sure he has quite grasped what that actually means. Still not being used by him are "drink" and "enough" and "nappy" and "all gone" - so I will try to do those more consistently now he seems to be picking things up so quickly.

And our other recent advance in communication is the shaking of the head - and less frequently nodding. George will shake his head for "no" whenever he is about to do something that he knows he is not supposed to - like touching the buttons on the TV or running off with the remote control. It doesn't stop him doing it but at least it confirms that he understands what we tell him!

Father's Day

The fathers on my side of the family gathered in Brighton today - Grandad, Uncle Steve and of course George's very own Daddy. We had a very British picnic in a Hove seafront square - sitting it out for a while as it got colder and windier, saying "I think the sun is coming out" and playing frisbee in an attempt to keep warm.

Beside the Seaside

Little G and I are down at my parents' place in sunny Bognor Regis for a couple of days while Daddy is away for work.

It turned out to be a lovely day so we headed for the seafront, where I got to satisfy my addiction to "tuppenny falls" at the amusement arcade on the pier, and George got to properly see the sea for the first time. He coped very well walking on the stones (the tide was in, so no sandcastles to be made, unfortunately) and was sensible enough not to attempt paddling.

Signs

George isn't really speaking yet - unless you count "lurdle-lurdle" as a word. He does say "Daddy" but pretty randomly, to refer to any number of unconnected things.

He does, however, understand plenty of what we say, and when he chooses to can follow quite complicated instructions - my favourite is getting him to take his dirty nappy to the bin.

And he has started to communicate using sign language. I have been signing to him for a while now, and he has used the sign for milk pretty regularly - to mean solid food as well as milk. But a couple of months ago he got the hang of "food" and shortly after that added "bird" to his repertoire. The odd thing is that I have been signing "dog" and "duck" for much longer and much more regularly but he seems to be ignoring those.

Today he added a new sign to his repertoire - "book". I only signed it to him for the first time a couple of days ago. He hasn't quite got it perfect, but it is near enough to make him understood and we were both very excited by it.

We are now working on "aeroplane" - his latest obsession - and continue to persevere with "dog" and "cat". And I must try to find out what "bee" is because we have seen quite a few of those in our garden recently.

Picnic in the Park

Today was my birthday and we met up with some friends and family for a picnic in the park. I think a good time was had by all - and it was nice to have plenty of people around to share in the chasing after George duties.

Bumper Bank Holiday

We seem to have fitted in quite a lot today.

Started off at a big car boot sale in Hook - didn't buy very much, disappointingly.

Horton Park Farm was just around the corner, so we stopped off there and George sampled all the outdoor play areas. We also had a ride on a tractor, which was very bumpy and not in the slightest bit comfortable.

We had lunch in a pub with yet another outdoor climbing frame for George to explore, then came home and played in the garden - water, water, everywhere!

Party Time!

Down to Bognor this weekend to attend the 2nd Birthday Party of a family friend. Lots of yummy egg sandwiches and cake! George amused himself with the Bob the Builder helmet and Grandad played the clown with a football.

Earlier in the day we visited Grandma, who was terrified that George was going to squeeze himself through the bars of her balcony. He thought it was great fun.