 |
| Captivated by the goats |
 |
| The cutest profile |
Just 6 short months after the release of the initial blockbuster hit and just in time for the Halloween season, director and creator Brody Warren has released a highly anticipated (albeit unwelcomed) sequel to the original Scream. Unlike most horror sequels, this newly refined version puts the original to shame. Perhaps it’s the objective force behind this October’s performance that outshines the – in retrospect – rather dull, undefined, and unmotivated original. In an intense effort to communicate and emote, our little monkey has learned the art of delivery, consistency, and sheer volume. As fear gripping, teeth gritting spectators, Beau and I await with bated breath, as we internally chant, “this too shall pass, this too shall pass.”
 |
| Caught ya! |
We recognize that while this phase is truly testing our patience, it is also in many ways a milestone. At the risk of sounding overly hopeful, we believe it’s fair to expect that right around the corner of these constant shrills will come distinct speech. And perhaps surpassing overly hopeful to purely ridiculous expectations, we also believe that with the ability to fluently communicate, the screaming will stop.
In the meantime, we are experiencing some of our first pangs of parental pride as we witness Brody’s ability to understand virtually everything we say to him. In addition, he has learned a handful of ways besides screaming to reciprocate the communicating.
 |
| The groom and bride-to-be |
A couple of months ago, my dear friend Jessie spoke to me about the helpfulness of teaching her daughter Ava how to sign to communicate. No stranger to the concept, I had originally decided not to bother because I had trepidations about it inhibiting speech. Eventually it got to the point where it was clear the stage between apprehension of language, to verbalizing language is a rather difficult, tense, and stressful stage for all parties. I decided it might not be a bad idea to teach him a couple of signs.
At first we didn’t know if it was working, but I kept hearing Jessie’s voice in the back of my head telling me, “just be consistent and it will work.” So at every meal, while feeding Brodes, when he started to whine and point at his food clearly indicating he wanted more, I would ask him, “Would you like more Brody?” I would sign the gesture for “more” every time I spoke the word, and then say, “Can you say, yes please,” while nodding my head. In addition, when Brody made it clear he was finished eating by his usual performance of gracefully taking his food piece by piece and throwing it on the ground (much to our dog Mina’s glee), I would say, “all done?” and gesture the all done sign.
 |
| Our little farmer |
One day to our surprise and delight, he did it on his own. I was in the kitchen preparing dinner when he came marching in, pointing at the food and softly whining. I looked down at him and asked him if he wanted a snack. He nodded “yes,” and I proudly gave him a piece of cheese. He stammered out of the kitchen only to return about a minute later, softly whining again only this time, he was signing the “more” gesture. I quickly called Beau over to show him and we startled Brody as we enthusiastically applauded his accomplishment. That very same night, he gestured “all done” when he was finished eating, and Beau and I spent the night reminiscing about those moments as we realized just how much he understands.
Along with more, and all done, he knows only to nod yes, or shake his head no. I wish we had taught him more and perhaps it’s not too late, but in the meantime we are happy to know we have some form of communicating beyond us running around him in circles playing the guessing game while he screams. He does consistently say “mama” and “dada,” and there has been a very valiant effort at saying “banana,” but we are still awaiting more.
 |
| Maze and Boo |
It’s hard not to stress out about the fact that I am seeing other people’s children speaking more already at Brody’s age, or some children only a few months older already speaking fluently. However, most of these children are girls and I am told there is a vast difference in speech development among girls and boys. I am also told that so long as it is clear he understands what we are saying, there is nothing to worry about.
Besides his screaming and speech development, other new Brody-isms emerging here at Chez Warren are:
1. Spinning in circles until he falls over laughing;
2. Offering just about any toy or piece of food to our dog Mina;
3. Spinning in circles and gasping for breath laughing while Mina spins in circles chasing her tail at the same time;
4. Climbing up the slide at the playground;
5. Understanding that (and being obsessed with) certain things are hot and if he points at them mama and dada will say, “hot Brody, hot, ouch, daaaangerous Brody, hot;”
6. As well as doing his closed mouth versions of animal noises (kitty, lion, froggy, and cow).
