The Joke

Owen has made up another sign. Last time he made up a sign for banana, which was clearly useful for communicating his desire for one of his favorite foods. This time around his new sign appears to be some sort of joke. With his right index finger he points at his left palm and bursts into fits of laughter. When we make the sign he cracks up as if he can't believe we said something so silly.

We're still not sure where the banana sign came from, but we do have some wild theories about the origins of "the joke." Owen's sign for "more" is putting his two fists together, but alternate signs for "more" involve putting your fist against your palm or the tips of your fingers against your palm. Maybe, when Owen uses his "joke" sign, he thinks he's signing for "more" with a funny accent.

Alternatively, Owen has a new best friend at day care named Leo. We know they're best friends because Owen spends an inordinate amount of time during his evenings and weekends shouting "LEO!", and whenever they see each other at day care they both start giddily jumping up and down. Recently, Leo moved to the next classroom, which is separated from Owen's classroom by a small potty training bathroom with see through half doors. When Owen is feeling lonely, he'll climb up the door and hang over into the bathroom shouting, "LEO!" Leo in turn will start shouting, "OWEN!" and climb up the door on his side. I wouldn't put it past the two of them to have come up with their own little inside joke, pointing their fingers at their palms, with some hilarious hidden meaning that none of us outsiders could ever know.