I thought it was time to give an update on Sullivan's progress. At present, at 9mos, she is still fascinated with her hands: waving them, twisting them, flicking them back and forth, opening and closing them and most often, furiously grabbing whatever item in her view that is most interesting. The other day she practically dove out of my arms to grab hold of my paddle hairbrush on the counter. Convinced that she couldn't grasp it as it is almost as big as she is and does weigh at least a pound, I was stunned that the impending danger of falling headfirst did not deter her and she swiftly clasped her little paw around it and brought it straight to "discovery central," her mouth. Stunning! She also learned to clap last week and gave me "five" this morning in a patty-cake fashion. Neat!
She is also babbling new sounds almost daily which include "dah dah, juh, gah,bah bah, pa" and many combinations. She doesn't associate dah-dah with Lee yet. As we are raising her with both Spanish and English (we are doing the one-parent, one-language model, opol, with me in Spanish and Lee in English) she may have some delays in speech, but so far I can not see any. In fact, she seems very attuned to my every sound. I am quite sure that her inquisitive, steady gaze each time I switch to English, addressing someone else, is proof that she knows exactly the moment when I switch languages. I'll keep you posted on her first words...I don't know if they'll be in Spanish or English, although my guess would be Spanish as Lee's work keeps him away. So far, babble is babble and I can tell no preference for either language.
As her language is taking off, she remains physically pretty still. No crawling, but lots of standing on laps and on the ground. She is now able to stand unassisted for a few seconds, while holding onto furniture or something at her shoulder-height. She did assume the crawl position, with her torsoe off the crowd, for the first time today...but she didn't take move forward or backward. I am wondering that I didn't place her on her tummy enough. Oh well, she will become mobile one day, in her own time.
5 comments:
FASCINATING! Good for you teaching your child to be bilingual! You are doing the right thing teaching her from the start. Do not worry about delays. What is a couple of months compared to a lifetime of rich languages and be able to communicate abroad. Think about European children that grow up speaking 5 and 6 languages and are fluent by the time they are 20! American children really have no idea.
Pat on the back to you!
I am impressed! My cousins grew up the same way, but in French and English. They had no issues--only if their mother spoke in French and not in English! Sullivan is precious and it is great to hear about her life as it unfolds. It still amazes me how dynamic their first years are.
I spoke French and English by the time I got to Kindergarten at MA - but then we took a step back so I could concentrate on English grammar. When I got older in those language arts classes with Madame Smith (remember her?!) it all came rushing back and French was so easy for me.
Glad ya'll had a great Christmas!
Catie & Lee:
That's a pretty photo of Sullivan, and I must say that your post is very interesting. Every day you will get a surprise from Sullivan in the way of new learning. For a 9 month old, she looks very alert and aware of her surroundings. Before you know it, she will be walking, talking and growing in wisdom. Happy New Year to you and the family and may God's blessings be with you throughout the year ahead.
I hate we missed you over the holidays- hopefully we can catch up one day soon. I loved looking at all of your Christmas pictues-she is too precious- her eyes are gorgeous!! I hope all is well!! Can't wait to chat with you!
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