"Fini"!!!

Chou-chou can sign "fini"/ "all done"! I can't believe it, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I realized he was doing it! I guess I was expecting something a little more coordinated, but now that I'm sure he's linked the idea of finishing something to the sign, I realized he's been doing it for maybe a week but I just didn't recognize his version. Chou-chou is 7.5 months old now, which is right exactly when the books say he should begin signing back (if you begin by 6 months, usually between 7-8 they'll start signing back). I think I've been more consistent in the last 3 weeks or so, and I've been really drilling certain other signs that I know he understands (bain/bath, chat/cat, tettine/pacifier, descendre/get down, livre/book, canard/duck, balle-ballon/ball) but can't reproduce. "Fini" is probably easier for him to do, I think I've used it more, and I'm sure he has more motivation to use it since there are certainly tasks and activities that he would like to finish sooner!
So here's how it went: Chou-chou and I were on the floor reading a book from his book bin, and when it was over I threw the book back in and made the sign for fini/all done, followed by plus/more, then took out another book and began reading it. And when that one was over I repeated the same sequence, and as I did he flapped his arms too! And as I recall he'd done the same thing after the first book but I hadn't noticed that he really had one hand on top of the other one and his hands were flat-ish. And so we did it again, and when he realized how happy I was that he was signing "fini" he got all excited too! And so was Jarod! How amazing... So now today I think I've been over-using "fini" just so I can double- and triple- check, and he doesn't always cooperate (he isn't, after all, a monkey), but the way we started the day was really confirmation enough... Chou-chou was on his changing table and I'd just finished cleaning up the mess but hadn't yet put on a new diaper, when he signed "fini"! I decided I'd let him dictate when we were done with the diaper just because I was so excited and wanted to reinforce the meaning, so I put him down on the floor and finished the diaper there. I can see already, though, that we could be getting into new territory here, with Chou-chou telling me when everything is "fini"! Like 20 minutes later, while I'm trying to take care of my own bathroom needs and Chou-chou's sitting there signing "fini" from his spot on the floor... ahem, it doesn't quite work that way!

I must admit, we've had a trying couple weeks here in Chou-chouland with regards to acid reflux, sleep deprivation, and constant "mommy-hold me-ness". But when Chou-chou pulled out his "fini" sign yesterday it almost brought tears to my eyes... I felt like, for all my hard work of being a mom, Chou-chou was giving me this precious little gift back. We were communicating. Even if it's just "fini", it's his mind and my mind connecting, and I know it's just the start. All of a sudden it's like he can express his own thought in a way that's more specific than a whine or a cry. Yay for baby signs! That's all for now... "fini"!