Noemi is quite the communicator--it's usually not to hard to figure out what she wants. This girl is quick, clear and to the point. And she often tells us what she wants with chutzpah. This is one of my many favorite things about her. Donovan and I started using sign language with her in Ethiopia; and now she uses about 25 signs with regularity. He first sign was cat. Does this count as her first word? What has been most interesting to me about her speech development is that the sounds she routinely makes are not consistent with the beginning sounds we would expect of English speaking children. Her first and most prominent sounds were /g/ and /k/, which means she was trying to say guys, cat and Kincaid (her cousin's name) before she was attempting Dada or Mama. Thanks to one of my speech therapist colleagues, I learned that the beginning sounds for Amharic are the "back of the throat" sounds such as /g/ and /k/. Awesome. I love the way itty bitty brains develop. And I love that she is first and foremost Ethiopian through and through.
Here's a video of Noemi signing a very eager me and please in an attempt to try a tortilla chip for the first time. When she kicks her feet it's a tell-tale sign that she is excited; and food always excites our little muncher. I don't know--do you think she is confused about what she wants??
