Morning Mystery

This morning, after waking us up, Esther announced that she was "poopy" (which usually means she's wet). I went to pick her up out of her crib, and sure enough, she was soaked. So I groggily set her down on the floor and removed her socks and pants. I don't specifically remember removing her diaper. Nor do I remember not removing her diaper. I know I was sleepy, but I would have thought I would notice if she wasn't wearing one. Wouldn't I?

Anyway, later in our morning routine I started looking for the diaper to throw it away, but the only diaper I could find was a completely dry, unfolded one near Esther's crib. There was no wet diaper on the floor, no wet diaper in the bathroom trash, and no wet diaper in the kitchen trash. (Not to mention no wet diaper in my memory.) Her sheets WERE even wetter than they usually are when her diaper overflows. So my best guess is that before she went to sleep last night, Esther pulled down her pajama pants, removed her diaper and dropped it out of her crib, then pulled her pants back up and proceeded to sleep that way for the rest of the night. Or else I'm going crazy. That would explain it, too.

guessing game (and other random funnies)

The following scenario took place several times. I was in the kitchen, and Esther was in her chair at the table. She was urgently trying to tell me something, which I couldn't make heads or tails of. My brain was attempting to impose words on the sounds I was hearing: Daddy's tops? Debby's chips? Finally I looked out the window--and realized she was trying to tell me about the garbage truck.

In general her pronunciation is becoming clearer. Elephant has gone from "EHfowee" to "Ehwfee," lotion has gone from "wowie" to "woeshee," pool has gone from "puwee" to "puwa," and so on. But there are still a few words for which I've just had to memorize the pronunciation. See if you can match the following pronunciations with their meanings:

1. dupdups a. big toilet

2. chuicy (rhymes with juicy) b. tissue

3. bid toity c. squirrel

4. icy peas d. sandals

5. seeuhwee e. chapstick

6. steu (vowel as in good) f. thank you

7. dadeu g. ice cream, please

Answers: 1e, 2b, 3a, 4g, 5d, 6c, 7f

And now for the random funniness:

A few days ago we were loading up our groceries after shopping when a woman walked by us ranting. Who she was ranting at was not clear, nor did I catch most of what she was saying. But just as she walked by us she was declaring, "I get back from work and I take my clothes off...". Esther looked up at me and said, "MY clothes off!"

In a similar spirit, the other day she was eating with only a shirt on. (Did I mention we're potty training?) She manage to remove it herself, and gleefully announced, "Naky baby!!"

Esther has discovered that Tim and I have other names names besides Mommy and Daddy. She will often call Tim "Tim," especially if she is calling for him from a distance. And sometimes she calls me "Honey." (Maybe "Linette" is too hard to pronounce?) Yesterday we were at a large gathering and Tim was watching her, but she wanted to find me so she could get some more food from her bowl. So I hear this little voice calling through the crowd, "Mommy, honey?"

When Tim and I eat something that is a particular delicacy--like good chocolate!--we have developed a whimsical habit of tapping our pieces together and saying "cheers!" Esther has picked up that habit with a vengeance. She will do "cheers" with any two things that match: two crackers, two cups, two dish sponges...or even two tricycles (she was on one; a neighbor boy was on the other; thankfully, no-one got hurt). She likes to have someone else join her in the cheers, but if no-one else is handy she will hold one item in each hand, knock them together, and say "cheers!"

Yesterday Esther and I rode the bus to try out a new park (which turned out to have a very cool playground!). Toddler that she is, she was being very possessive. As in, she objected to another passenger holding on to the same pole she was holding on the bus, and when another child got in the swing next to hers she said "mine!" and started to run over to claim it. So I had to laugh when she started climbing a (very wide) ladder and another two-year-old grabbed it possessively and said "No! MINE!" Esther looked a little confused, so I reassured her that it was okay, there was plenty of room for both of them to use the ladder and she could go ahead up. So she did, and then turned around and told the little boy in her bossiest voice, "Share!" Um, Esther, did you ever hear the saying about practicing what you preach?

language explosion, part two

Once Esther's vocabulary was off and running, her language started to become more complex. Around the end of April, when she was almost 22 months, she began putting words together. Her first phrase was either "bird fly" (the only reason we're not certain about that is because it was the first time either one of us had heard her use the word "fly") on April 28th or "up steps" on May 2nd.

During the month after that, she began adding grammar. First, if I remember correctly, were the pronouns. Esther astounded me by using "I," "me" and "mine" correctly, even though pronouns tend to be very confusing for small children. Unlike many children, she never really referred to herself as "Esther"; it was "I" and "me" from the beginning. She is just now starting to refer to pictures of herself as "Esther," but when somebody asks her name she usually just stares at them (once she answered "baby.") I suppose her correct use of the pronouns is facilitated by two factors: much of what she has to say is about herself, and she doesn't know any other pronouns. Well, now she's starting to use "you" in stock phrases like "I love you" (I wuv you) and "See you later" (see you wayduh). But a while back when she wanted me to throw something away for her, it came out, "I throw away...Mommy?" (I fowway, Mommy?).

Another early piece of her grammar was the 's' sound of "is." I was never quite sure whether she meant "it's," "where's," or "there's," but for a while almost every noun was prefaced with "ess." So when she saw a bicycle, she announced, "ssbye!" and when she saw a car that reminded her of ours, she said, "ssDaddy tah!" She also frequently asked me (when Tim wasn't home), "ssDaddy?"

She also picked up rather quickly on the article "a" and used it liberally, to the point that I wondered if she really thought that "bite" begins with an "uh" sound.

Now, at 25 months, Esther has added to her grammatical repertoire (more pronouns and prepositions, as well as question words) and it makes for some entertaining sentences! Some examples:

(After refusing the crackers I was offereing her): "I want this one!" (pointing in the general direction of the kitchen, where "this one" was presumably located)

(When she tilted her water bottle up too high and got water in her nose): "Spill my nose"

(While potty training): "Nobody poops" (wishful thinking, that one!) and "Wet comes out me"

(When I told her not to get her nose in the bath water or she might choke): "Why choke?"

(While listening to a cicada): "What tady doing here?"

(When I asked her if she wanted to do something): "Yes. I do!"

(When I said she could do something if she wished): "I wish!"

Most of her conversation, however, still consists of single words or short phrases. Here are some examples:

Esther: Dead bug.

Mommy: Yes, there's a dead bug on the step.

Esther (putting her nose two inches from the bug): Stare me!

Mommy: Does the bug scare you?

Esther (happily): Me too!

Esther: Tady!

Mommy: You're right, I hear the cicada too!

(The cicada stops singing)

Esther: Shh. Sweeeby!

Mommy: Do you think the cicada's sleeping?

Esther: Byedee!

Mommy: Um, cicada's don't use blankies.

(As far is Esther is concerned, anyone she can't see or hear is sleeping. With a blankie. Blankies are very, VERY important.)

It's so fun being able to have actual conversations with her!