Now that Sam is almost 16 months old, it seems she’s learning new words every day. At least I think they’re words. It’s hard to tell. She points at something and babbles, and somewhere in there is something that sounds like a word, so I guess that’s what’s going on. Here’s a lexicon of what I think she’s saying:
Ma-Ma – Mama (naturally)
Da-Da – Daddy (of course)
See-See – Sissy, or Cassie, her sister
Bee-Bee – depending on the context, this could mean ‘Baby,’ ‘BJ’ (the name of one of our cats), or ‘kitty.’ Sometimes it also means ‘dog.’
Shoo! – shoe; also sock, apparently. Always said with emphasis
Shoo! – juice; may sound like shoe or sock, but if she’s pointing at the fridge or table instead of a smelly sneaker or a foot, it’s definitely juice
Sa – Sam (I think; this one is very new)
Bbbbbppppttzzz! – a complex statement, usually accompanied by flying spittle; means, “I have pooped my diaper”
Ma! Ma! – when accompanied by a banging of Sam’s head on my chest it means “I! WANT! BREAST MILK!!”
Uh-Oh – “I have entered Sissy’s room and knocked something breakable off of her dresser. Do you think she’ll notice?”
Noooooooooooooooo! – means “I don’t want to… take a bath, change my diaper, take a nap, give back Sissy’s favorite toy, spit out the cat food I just ate!”; usually followed by the pitter patter of tiny feet fleeing the room.
So much for communicating with Sam. Cassie, of course, has learned a new language that no one else but she understands. We’re calling it “Whinese.” A conversation in Whinese sounds something like this:
Cassie: “Mooooooooommmmmmmyyyyyy! Iiiiiiiah wa-wa-wa-want miiiiiiiiiiilk!”
Me: “Huh?”
Cassie: “Iiii-aaaaah-iiii-aaah-uuuuuhh wa-wa-wa-wa-want miiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaeeeeeelk!”
Me: “What on earth are you saying? Stand up straight and speak clearly, please honey?”
Cassie: “Waaaaaaah! Waaaaaaah! You-ou-ou-ou ma-ma-maaaaaaaaaaaake meeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiieeee unha-ha-happyyyyyyyyy! Waaaaaaah! Mooooooommmmmmmmmmyyyyyy i-i-i-i-is so-so-so-so meeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaan!”
Me: “Oh for pete’s sake, could you just speak English please?”
If anybody can figure out what it is either of my kids are saying, please let me know. Meanwhile, I’m going to start answering in pig Latin. Hey, if I can’t understand them, why should they understand me?
