Chloe is in the full-on toddler-talk mode. We understand a lot of what she says. But not all. There is a lot of jibberish in there that puts a perplexed look on my face. There are clear words that anyone would understand. And words that we know what she means but would have you shrugging your shoulders. Sometimes she starts with a few words we recognize and goes off on a 50 syllable rant that must mean something. Because her facial expression shows that she means business.
Some examples (and translations):
KI-KI (long I, or eye sound). That's kitty cat. Ki-Ki. Of course she uses KI-KI for any small animal. See our cats? She excitedly starts yelling "KI-KI, meow. KI-KI, meow". See a puppy dog on a leash on the sidewalk? "KI-KI. KI-KI." Me: "No Chloe, that is a puppy dog. Kind of like a kitty cat. But different. It's a dog." Chloe: "KI-KI. KI-KI. KI-KI." Me: "Dog." Chloe *while clapping*: "KI-KI. KI-KI. KI-KI." Me: "OK."
Yak. That's Zack. Her brother. She is trying to say Philip. She watches me say it and moves her mouth slightly and then stops. Then she turns towards Zachary and says Yak over and over again. Philip gets his feelings a little hurt. It isn't his fault that his name is harder to say than Yak. I try to stress to him that this is in no way associated with the amount of love she has for him. It's about mouth formation.
There ya' go, and Thank you sound very similar. I can distinguish usually by the gestures that accompany the sounds. I get a "ta-ya-go" when she hands me something, and a "tank-a-yo" when I hand her something.
Quite clear are "MINE" and "NO". We hear those two lot these days and they often go together. It is very clear. And the accompanied gestuer is usually her grabbing whatever item she is referring to and pulling it very close to her chest. Everything belongs to Chloe. Her books. Her shoes. Her toys. The boys' toys. The cat. The remote. My phone. Chris's phone. The shampoo bottle. The boys' books. Pretty much anything she can grab with her two little hands.
Everything round or somewhat spherical is a ball. Including watermelons, onions, oranges, apples, and even actual balls. A trip through the produce section of the grocery store is comical. Shoppers around us laugh as she excitedly points to everything that looks sort of like a ball (most produce) and screams "ball" at the top of her lungs, obviously very excited and happy.
Of all of the toys she has, her absolute favorite things are books. She will hand us a book to read, saying "book". We read the book to her then hand it back. She puts it right back into our hands "book". Again and again. Sometimes we read the same book 15 times in a row. Every now and then she is specific on the book. She calls the book "Hug", "Bobo" (the name of the baby monkey in the book) and it is a favorite.
Sock and shoe are both pronounced clear as day. They are usually followed with "side" which means outside. She loves to go outside. We don't usually hear just 'side', it is more like "side side side side side side side side side side". Each syllable louder than the last as she stands at the door trying her best to turn the knob. That reminds me. I need to put that stupid door knob safety thing on the door. Not looking forward to that. Because it is almost as much mom-proof as it is baby proof. Frankly, I think they figure out it rather quickly while I still struggle to open the stupid door. It's embarrasing.
This morning, for the first time, Chloe said Go To School. It was more like "ga ta cool". But I knew what she meant. Only because she was repeating what I'd said when I asked her if she was ready to go to school.
That's just a glimpse. There are many more words coming out of her mouth daily. She makes us laugh. A lot. A whole lot.
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