The Deaf Cousin

When we were in Oregon for our family vacation, cousin Karen, observing Elle communicating in sign language, began to call Elle "the deaf cousin".

Karen is anything but deaf. In fact she is the loudest in our group of cousins. Karen is very animated, always telling a story loudly, and of course with her hands. When Karen began calling Elle "the deaf cousin" I assured her that if she hung out with us long enough she might pick up a few signs and this might make her stories a bit more exciting. At least it would keep her audience on their toes! Here husband gave me the thumbs up.

Elle does love using her sign language, and I love it because instead of yelling at me she can tell me what she wants. (not that she doesn't still yell to get my attention) We started signing to Elle when she was 6 months, and we didn't get a sign back until she was 12 months. Now it seems like she is learning at least one a week!

Elle now signs:
dog
mom
dad
grandma
grandpa
water
milk
cereal
ball
car
hat
all done
more
please
cracker
juice
banana
coat
shoes
bird
apple

She can also, dance, bow, clap, snap (no sound comes out), "get in your seat" (bumbo seat), and show us that Elle is "So Big" all on command. Which are all WAY TO CUTE!

Of course Elle does SAY words, with her mouth too. She says mama, dada, daddy, dog, duck, go, no, nonononono, and she has said a few others, but very infrequently.

Here's an example of the "Clap"

Elle's Latest Stats

At Elle's 15 month check up she was...

20.5 lbs = 9th percentile
28 inches long = 48th percentile
Her head's circumference was still in the 7th percentile (I don't remember the exact measurement)

All measurements are on the curve which means that she is growing just fine!

When the doctor told me that she was in the 9th percentile for her weight, I said, "What? Only the 9th percentile?"

The doctor gave me a "rrreeeaaalllly?" look and said, "Have you looked at yourself lately? You are not going to have a large child!"

I did however, find a picture in which Elle does not look 9th percentile (I actually don't think she looks small ever, but this picture helped her pack on the pounds)... My dad said she looks like the Michelin tire man!

Family Fun!

About a week ago we got back from a great family vacation.

My grandmother (my dad's mom) treated the entire family (42 of us) to a weekend at the Inn at Spanish Head in Lincoln City, Oregon. Our family has spent many vacations at Spanish Head throughout the years, and it was so nice to be there all together once again. There was not ONE family member missing.

We had such a great time. The beach was chilly, the hot tub was warm, the bonfire made delicious s'mores, and it was SO good to see my aunts, uncles, cousins and their kids!

My grandma hired a professional photographer and we all had a individual family session with her. Here are a couple of the cute pics.

The Three Musketeers...
Elle started walking while on the trip, and I believe it is because she knew it was the only way to survive with the older cousins. :)


A sweet picture of me and my man!


Marly and "baby" Elle


Elle absolutely LOVED the sand! She even enjoyed eating it...So gross!!


My beautiful sister-in-law and me!

I feel so blessed to be a part of such a great family. I'm sure I'll be posting more pictures from this trip as time goes by. They all turned out so great!