Baby noises

Elise probably in mid-sound. Look
how happy she is!

Vocal cords are a funny thing. Apparently, anyway, to someone who's not used to using them. And Elise has quite the repertoire of sounds. Following is a list of the noises Elise can make/has commonly made using hers:

Grunt: One of Elise's earlier noises, this grunt meant little more than "I'm here, making noise, hear me grunt."

Mmmmmaaaaa: Elise's first consonant happened to be the letter "M!" Which means she can kind of say Mama. I insist to Matt that she doesn't associate the word with me yet, but as the baby only uses it when she's upset, I'm secretly not so sure she doesn't know exactly what she's saying.

Roar: The baby began to roar a few weeks ago, quickly followed by the toddler, who thinks roaring is fun and hilarious. Really, it is, and it passes my criteria for a safe activity we can all do together.



Elise loves to swing! I
actually swing her higher than
Kalina.

Boo-boo-boo: The other day I got to witness Elise saying "B" for the first time. She'd let out a little puff of air, and then say "boo," and it was so adorable I couldn't help but say "boo" back. Many times. I congratulated her on her new skill and she seemed quite pleased with herself.
Oooooowooooowooo: At times, Elise's sounds resemble that of a sweet little fire engine. This is most likely to happen when she's well-fed and well-rested and has something interesting to play with. It's my favorite.

Shriek: Elise has certainly perfected the shrill, glass-breaking shriek that makes the whole family cringe. This often happens during solid-feeding time when Mommy has to leave the table (and a still-hungry baby) to fetch something from the kitchen (ketchup and mustard for the toddler's carrots, for instance). As this can happen about a dozen times in the course of one meal, I now prepare for my absence by sprinkling Cheerios halves across Elise's tray to keep her happy. Kalina appreciates this tactic, happily commenting when I return, "Elise didn't even scream!"

Laugh: Of course, Elise is quite adept at laughing by now. After all, she has a hilarious older sister to watch. When she's supposed to be eating, or getting her diaper changed.

Cry: We do this one too, on occasion.

Pppbbbttthhh: Elise still loves to blow raspberries. They mean, "I'm done with my food, Mommy, so you can have this bite back." I really just need to learn to wear a raincoat, especially when Elise is dining on pureed prunes. Sometimes Elise uses tiny raspberry noices to voice her approval of or interest in something, a habit that I've unfortunately picked up.

Conversation: Although most of the conversation in the house happens around Elise, she'll occasionally join in in her sweet little way. "Oooha?" she'll ask. "Ooowwwooo!" we'll reply. And so it continues.