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?