Dangerous Wonder

Tonight I took Dean to the park for what is beginning to be a nightly ritual again. Now that it's cooler and I'm getting better at being done with my "chores" for the day before dinner, I am trying to take a daily walk. It's good exercise for me and Dean loves being outside, especially when we end up at the park where he can swing. Tonight I decided after swinging for awhile to let him walk around a little. I've been noticing that, though he walks along things, I don't walk WITH him very much. So why not try at the park right? He really does love to walk, but rarely has enough room to get worn out. As we were walking along the sidewalk we came upon this couple and their two dogs. Now of all the animals in the world, (or of the ones he's encountered) Dean loves dogs the most. It's funny to me how a loud sneeze or sharp voice can make him dissolve into a pile of tears, but the loud menacing bark of a dog doesn't faze him. Anyway, as we came upon these dogs he purposely let go of one of my hands and signed the word "dog". I couldn't believe it! I've been trying to get him to use sign language for the last 8 months and all I've gotten is a blank stare. For his birthday I did get him the "Baby Signing Times" video which he loves! It's the one time of day that he'll sit still for more then 5 min. I wasn't really sure though if the signs that they are teaching him were really getting through. Guess I was wrong! Honestly I had kind of given up and was just letting him watch the video when I needed a few minutes of him being quiet. Now if I can only get him to use signs related to proper table manners such as please, thank you, more, drink, etc. (sigh) Well one small step at a time! :)