maya's first language

maya's first language is not english, hindi or spanish, it is sign language. this is no surprise since pretty much all maya says is da-da (on a good day). but what is so surprising is the rate at which maya is learning words.

the very first sign that maya did was "all done". i remember watching her very carefully for days just to make sure that she really was signing this word. it was around her first birthday when it seemed the light bulb went off in her head. i was so happy when i saw she was getting this one one word down and then one day out of the blue when i said milk, she started to sign milk. i was so impressed because it almost seemed that she picked it up on her own. i was spending so much time working on teaching her "more" that i didn't think she would skip that and move onto "milk".

everyday it seems that she surprises me with a new word. so far she has signed: all done, milk, more, ball, signing time, shoes, baby, wash hands and hungry. some of these words she just picked up on her own like wash hands. she loves to use this sign when she sees water (when i wash my hands or when we are getting her bath ready). other signs she has struggled with like "more". even though it's the sign i've tried to teach her the most she doesn't seem to initiate it very often.

now i have to say i don't feel guilty at all for letting her watch those baby signing time videos. i really think that she is catching on so quickly because of them. the nifty way they use sign language when they sing songs is what i think catches her eye and ears. she honestly pays attention to the videos and now i know she is learning from them.