Would you like some cheese...

to go with that whine? Annabelle discovered whining today! She dropped something... she whined. She was done playing... she whined. She couldn't reach a toy... she whined. She wanted to be picked up... she whined. She wanted more food... she whined. (Are you sensing a pattern?) Normally these things might cause her to start to get a little fussy, but she has discovered full blown whining and isn't holding back! She does this little high-pitched pitiful noise, and I guess she realized that was getting my attention.

It's crazy how fast she picked up whining! I swear she wasn't doing it yesterday, but today was all about the whine. Although the whine is slightly irritating, it's cool that she's realizing that she actually wants something (toy, attention, picked up, more, etc.), not just needs something (hungry, sleep, changing, etc.). I was reading that she's now dropping things just to see what they do and sound like when they drop (and maybe even to test out the whine thing). It's neat to watch her thought process in her eyes when she does this.

Speaking of watching her thought process... I've been doing some of the sign language signs with her lately... still mainly to get me used to doing it. Today we were laying on the floor and looking up at the lights and fans on the ceilings. I did the signs for both light and fan, giving her time to really study my hands and try to mimic the movement and shapes. I swear you can see the thought process going on in her mind as she watches my hand, looks at her own hand, then slowly forms the sign while looking back at my hand to see if she's doing it correctly! She did this well over a month ago with the "fan" sign, but then it didn't seem like there was as much thought going into it... almost as if she did it without thinking about it. Today was different though. I can't wait until she starts realizing what the signs mean and signs back to me! Hopefully she will start signing in the next few months... and maybe even cut down on the need for the cheese! :)

P.S. Cutie Bellaroo pictures are up!