Once More With Feeling

As recorded, Leilani is really talking a lot now and picking up words almost every day. But I’ve noticed that there’s a lot more than just recognizing objects now. While she’s always had feelings, they were mostly conveyed by crying and other sounds. Now she has a few words to express those feelings and desires.

  • No. She said it a few times in that recording, but she really masters it now. We often ask her if she wants to do something (get up, go potty), and if she doesn’t want to, she says no. Since she hasn’t really learned “yes” yet, we have to be careful what we ask and how we ask it. Sometimes it’s better not to give her a choice.
  • Down. Leilani used “up” to mean both “pick me up” and “let me stand up” (in other words, put me down). So we kept trying to teach her to say down. Not only did she finally use it correctly, she immediately understood that it applied to anything, and that it was relative. She started squatting and saying “down,” then standing up and saying “up.” She also lifts a toy “up” and then puts it “down.”
  • Sissi. This is her way of saying the German “Sitz(i)” (sit down – with an i tacked on for babytalk) and she always sits down when she says it. I thought sitting down and saying “sitzi” was redundant (she often comments her own actions when she knows the word), but recently, I noticed she says it when she wants us to sit down with her, for example if she wants us to read a book.
  • Oww. Leilani use to say “aïe” for small pain (big pain is crying), I don’t know where she picked that up. It’s the same as in French, but I never used it around her, and I can’t imagine anyone else would. Recently she switched to “oww” which is what we parents use. What I find incredible is that she began using it for things that can hurt, such as forks and other sharp objects around the house, even if she’s never been hurt by them. She’ll touch or point to the sharp part with her finger and say “oww.”
  • Mmmaa. This is her imitation of the kissing sound, and she points her lips in the direction of the kissee. She correctly understands kissing as “I like what I kiss” but she uses it to show the objects that she likes, not just the people. So she makes this sound to say she likes her Bunny puppet (named Mum) or her toothbrush. Still she does use it for people, and it’s quite a moment when you realize your daughter just said “I love you Daddy/Mommy” for the first time.
Author: Andy

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