Say What?!

I'm still amazed by the process of acquiring language in children. I took a class at the UA that was so interesting and I've been hooked ever since. That's only compounded since I've had children (obviously). In 2 years, it's incredible to see how their mind has grown and their capability to communicate multiplied.

Between 1 and 2, our kids definitely had their own "triplet language". They would say similar sounding words to each other and crack up, get angry, or go get a toy that was in another room. At that point, I was completely unaware of what they were saying.

Now I've entered the new stage. Gone is the triplet language of old (oh, sad!) and on the horizon is standard English. But we're stuck in the middle. I've realized lately that I've become a fluent speaker of a "half-babble-trying-to-be-English" language. Seriously, I think my kids can speak so clearly at times; then I realize they are to me...not necessarily anyone else around. Dave speaks it, too...although they sometimes throw in a new one for him just to keep him on his toes. I thought I'd try to type out the way it sounds to them (although completely normalized now for me):

• "Seeking Duty"....sleeping beauty
  
• "Wah-nee" or "Mah-nee"......water (I have no idea how this started)
• "Peetah, peetah jelly"......peanut butter and jelly
• "feet" or "fing"......swing
• "Soot or sook"...school
• "Aye-no-no"...I don't know
• "Elmo"...elbow
• "Keek-ah-boo!"...peekaboo
• "poot-oh"....playdoh
• "kennel and maggots"...friends of ours: Kendall and Maddox
• "sloo-ents"...students
  
• "Up and down"...hill (you'd think one word is easier than two!"

I'm smiling as I think about our daily routine and how these words come up often. I know that the real words will soon replace these, so I'm cherishing the moments I hear them and cracking up at their earnest attempt to sound sooo adult :)