I've been meaning to get this post out for at least two or three weeks, so my apologies for not doing it sooner. I have some fantastic news:

Ivy speaks! And signs!



A couple weeks ago, Ivy signed and said her first words - both within about twenty minutes of each other!

I had her on the bed, changing her diaper. We were playing a little bit, and she got excited and started waving her hands. Ivy stopped, looked at her hand, and I could just totally see her think about it for a minute. She closed her fingers together and brought her hand to her mouth, as if she was signing 'food'. Actually, she was asking for her 'binky' (pacifier), but I knew what she meant. I was so proud!

So a little bit later, Eden came in and I changed her butt as well. We stayed on the bed, playing and tickling, just generally having fun. Ivy had been the center of attention since signing to me, and it seemed she got a bit jealous that sissy was now getting all mommy's playing. Clear as day, Ivy yelled, "Mama!"

*swoon*



Since then, she has also said 'Dada', 'Eden', and 'Sissy', and signed 'more', 'food', 'mom', and 'dad'. Since her birth, Ivy has watched our signing and conversations so closely. Ivy is just a grown-up waiting to get there. Now that she's started communicating, she's doing it more and more often. She's extremely proud of herself, and so am I.