Mason has a ton of signs now, with new ones every day. Today he learned "truck" and "crocodile" amongst other random things that fascinate him. The trouble is that his technique still needs refinement, so interpretations can be a challenge. For example, the sign for "butterfly" (that he uses for anything that flies--bird, airplane, etc.) requires you to cross your thumbs and flap both sets of fingers. Mason's adaptation is his index fingers coming together repeatedly. "Water" is usually the "3 hand" (like a W) tapping to the side of your mouth. Mason uses his index finger to point repeated to various points on his cheek. They're close but not intuitive and when he does a sign he expects to be heard! Favorite other signs: Grampy/Grandpa, Grammy/Grandma, please/thank you, banana.

Some of his signs have become perfected. "Cat," for example, used to always draw the "dog" sign instead. He now does a picture-perfect cat. "More," instead of banging his palms together, shows off the pinched hands touching repeatedly at the finger-tips. His words are also developing, but require some work to understand too.

It is amazing how quickly he picks things up and how it helps him express himself. I can now say to him, "Mason the sign for this is..." and he'll repeat it. He likes games with signs. Kenzie or I say "there's a monkey outside!!" and he'll do the sign for monkey and point outside.