Baby talk

Taken more than a month ago at
the old house, but it
certainly hasn't lost its cuteness.

Have you heard Elise's shriek lately? I can't imagine anyone hasn't, as it resonates from one end of a Super Target to the other, or likely across our nice, new, quiet neighborhood.

I'm not even talking about a frustrated, angry or sad shriek, and in fact, many times it's a "LOOK NOW!!! UP THERE ON THE LEFT IS A DISPLAY OF LARGE, FLUFFY STUFFED ANIMALS, THE LIKES OF WHICH I HAVE NEVER SEEN. WHEEL ME UP THERE RIGHT NOW, I MUST BURY MY FACE IN THEM!" I think it's pretty cute (in these instances), but I'm not sure people on the other side of the store do. Rarely do I let her indulge, as taking away the large fluffy thing (or whatnot) produces a string of even louder shrieks, and not the good kind. (And there is no toy in my diaper bag that can distract her from that.)

[Kalina, by the way, has caught on to Elise's happy shrieks and mildly comments, "Maybe she wants to see those." Yes, she probably does, Sweetie.]

In fact, if we were to use alliteration to describe Elise, and even if we weren't, one good word would be "enthusiastic." I don't know if it's more her age or more her personality, or both, but Elise gets really excited at things like fruit, the bunny book, the puppy page of the animal book, anything soft, and anything remotely resembling a ball.

But what's really cool is that Elise is finding a new way to demonstrate her excitement: with words! If she likes something, she wants to say it (and not always scream it). And the whole household is right there with her, helping her along.

It started with "Mama." The baby may have been saying it for weeks without me believing it was the real thing, but eventually I got the picture. How sweet! I'm her first word! This word, however, soon became a catch-all for anything that had gone wrong. "Mama!" Elise would moan to say, "My cup got tossed off my tray again!" or "I can't reach that light bulb!" "Make it better, Mama!"

Aunt Laura and Uncle Chris visited
more than a month ago! I have never
seen Kalina so excited.

"Dada" soon followed, as did ball, duck, bear, dog, cat, book, and balloon.

Yes, that's right--the baby can say "balloon." It all began when the neighbors tied a couple balloons on the mailbox for one day to celebrate their daughter's birthday. Elise and I talked about that balloon for hours, until finally, she came out with a, "boo," instead of "bah." Close enough for me, as it's enough to distinguish the word from "ball." The balloons were gone the next day (I know because Elise sadly pointed out their absence), and the poor baby has been disappointed several times a day ever since as she unsuccessfully seeks them out.

Elise adds to her vocabulary every couple of days, and probably more often, except we're usually too busy cleaning up the tiny pieces of tissue Kalina has strewn across the house, or trying to get the baby to eat any protein at all, to notice.

It's a good thing Elise is already showing an aptitude for strong verbal skills, as she will have a careful teacher as she gets older. Kalina, who has taken on Elise's vocabulary as a kind of a mini-project,
has been working with Elise to teach her new words.

Lots of fun!

For instance, if Elise grabs her cup at the breakfast table and randomly mentions, "buh, buh," Kalina corrects her with, "Cup doesn't start with B, Elise!!" I can't not smile. I also find it ironic that while I was working with Kalina today to help her pronounce "drink" so that it doesn't sound like "krink," Elise was following right along. "Duh!" she proclaimed as I showed her her cup. Maybe between the two of them they'll get it just perfect!"

And then there are the "mystery" words. "Bah!" Shouts Elise joyfully in the library. "Where's the ball?" is my first thought. But there is none. Apparently, "bah" is a catchall that will be revealed specifically at a later time.



She's also wriggling her way into conversations. "Look, Kalina, there's someone walking a dog!" I commented on the way home from the library today. "Dah!" replied Elise, looking around. I believe Kalina ignored me.

The baby can even make requests. "Buh," Elise told me after finishing her bedtime milk. She was pointing toward a small stack of books, at the bottom of which was the aforementioned bunny book (she remembered it was there because we'd read it a few minutes ago). I could tell by her face that it was just the nighttime story she wanted.

We will miss the purple
dinosaur. Wouldn't you?

Nothing, by the way, makes Elise happier, and prouder, than to be understood at this young age. Because when I do hand her her toy "bah," after she askes for it, I'm rewarded with smiles and gurgles that surpass everything except, possibly, a good tickling by skunk puppet.

Also making Elise proud lately: setting her cup upright on the floor, sorting shapes in a shape sorter (with only a little help!), taking a few teetering steps in a row (she still prefers crawling), handing you anything and having you thank her for it, and stacking two objects. In case you hadn't noticed, this has the same effect on her mommy.:)