Kristen Bell: Why We Taught Lincoln Sign Language

10/19/2014 at 01:00 PM ET

Courtesy Nicole Sands

Kristen Bell ‘s 18-month-old daughter Lincoln is already a great communicator.

“[She can say] a lot of two-syllable words, but she signs mostly because she’s really good at it,” the actress told PEOPLE at This Party Saves Lives event hosted by her company, This Bar Saves Lives, on Thursday night.

She adds, “People recommend doing signs because the baby can communicate with you and say, ‘I want an apple’ or ‘Look at the black dog,’ and you can actually form sentences.”

While Lincoln works on her signing skills, Bell, 34, and husband Dax Shepard , 39, are preparing for the upcoming arrival of their second child. The actress says her pregnancy has fortunately been a breeze — just like her first.

“Thank my lucky stars, it’s been a virtually identical pregnancy,” she shares. “Pregnancy can be really hard for women, and I’m lucky that I’m not really symptomatic. I’m okay with being on my feet and I’m lucky that my body feels really good.”

Her secret to a feel-good pregnancy? Yoga.

“I’ve found pre-natal yoga to be really unbelievably therapeutic,” she explains. “The days that I do it — even I find in my mental attitude — I’m so much happier. All pregnancy really does is contract your body in these weird ways, so that’s one thing I’ve tried to commit to.”

And while she typically maintains a healthy lifestyle, the mom-to-be has been known to occasionally indulge in what she loves most: snacks.

“I suppose I give in to more cravings because I eat pretty healthy normally, but I’ll give into a lot more snack food and potato chips here and there because why not,” Bell says.

Fortunately, the family has found a fall favorite that has plenty of flavor without the added sugar.

“The whole family is really into organic honey crisp apples in the fall — I know that sounds weirdly specific,” Bell shares. “We try to stay away from sugar and when you haven’t had a ton of sugar in a while, having an organic honey crisp apple feels like you’re having a Snickers bar.”

– Nicole Sands