First the explanation: Purzelbaum is German, it means somersault. Taken apart into two German words “purzel” means to roll and “Baum” means tree.
Leilani still needs a lot of entertainment in the car. When the standard “I see…” game got boring Leilani started asking silly questions “Are you a car?” I answered “No!” and countered with “Are you an ear?” Leilani laughed, and answered “No! I am Leilani! Are you a shoe?” It went back and forth a few rounds until I asked “Are you a tree?” Leilani thought for a while, and said yes. I asked “What kind of tree are you?” and she replied “Purzelbaum tree.” She laughed about her own joke and confirmed that she was funny Leilani.
Andy says: she is definitely making small puns and jokes. One word will remind her of another and she will say both. But I think she knows jokes are funny from the feedback we give her—how else could she learn than from social context.
Here’s another story that shows she doesn’t just imitate us, she also creates herself.
We left Leilani with my parents last night to go out for a date, and I won the bet that she would be awake and running around a bit hyper when we got home past 10pm. After getting all wound up and crying when we didn’t understand she wanted to play with the purse she got for Christmas, she settled down and got out the toy cell phone. We often suggest she pretend to call her friends and tell them what she’s doing, although we didn’t prompt her this time. Here is her conversation (she only voices her side):
— Hi Raya and Jaya.
—I’m at my grandma’s house.
—I’m not crying.
—I’m playing nicely.
A few photos from our date… Indian Dinner at the Clay Pot
Walk at 37th Street
Meeting scary creatures there
At home in the meantime.
