Communication Update

At 18 months, Vivian and Gavin don't have many verbal words. But, they do sign a lot and seem to understand just about everything we say. Below is a communication update for each of them.

Miss Vivian

Vivian communicates with us in many different ways. First, Vivian consistently says "pup," "mommy," "mama," "dada," "Bob" (which is for one of her toys), "woah" (which is usually said when Gavin falls or hurts himself) and "wooooooow" (which she uses when she sees or hears about something that she likes). Second, she has occasionally said "Elmo," "Gav," and "baby." Third, Vivi can tell you what cats, pups, pigs, and cows sound like.  Fourth, she constantly nods her head for yes and shakes her head for no when responding to our questions- about anything. Let's just say that Vivian knows what she wants and definitely knows what she doesn't want. Fifth, she signs "please," "more," "thank you," "all done," and "milk" several times a day and a few other signs randomly throughout the week. And sixth, she's best at pointing at things that she wants and making an "eh eh" sound with a rising intonation at the end. She's been milking that last one for a while. Why wouldn't she? It seems to be working out for her.

Mr. Gav

Gavin also communicates with us in a variety of ways. First, Gavin has a couple more consistent verbal words than Vivian including "mama," "dada," "pup," "bye-bye," "snack," "baby," "shoe," and "woah" (which he uses when he thinks something is cool). Second, he has also been heard saying, "nana" (for banana) and "dog" from time to time. Third, Gavin loves barking at the dog whenever he sees him and just barking out loud whenever anyone is talking about a dog. He can also make the sound for a pig and cat when prompted. Fourth, Gavin also nods and shakes his head all day long. He will answer any question that he understands and if he doesn't know, he holds up his hands like he can't find something and looks confused. Fifth, Gavin also signs everything that Vivian signs. And lastly, one of Gavin's favorite things to do is follow "go get that" and "give this to" requests. Gavin loves it when we ask him to get something for us or give something to someone; especially if he has to go look for the item in the other room or underneath something else. For instance, we'll ask him, "Can you get Vivian a paci?" He'll nod his head yes and then go on the hunt. When he finds it, he'll either go give the paci to Vivian or he'll give it to us.