New Words

In the past two months we have entered what is hands down my favourite stage in Eloise's development yet. At just over a year and a half she is walking and learning and playing and talking more every day. I love seeing her interact with things - Granby, her toys, other children - but it's her new ability to communicate that I love the most.

Some of it is baby speak that only Chris and I understand, but most of her words are clear and audible. When something is loud Eloise remarks that it is "noisy", when it's soft or warm it is "cozy" and when it's fun it is "yay". She asks for "water", "toast", "strawberries", "pasta", "tomatoes", "crackers", "yogurt", "quesadilla" and much more by name. Best of all, when Eloise wants something she (mostly) says "please."

Eloise's communication skills mean that she can tell us what she wants and what she doesn't. I like that I can ask her if she is hungry or sleepy or wet and she will say a definitive yes or no. No is definitely a favourite word but so is "hi" which she loves to say to passersby and "kiss" which she says while giving us a snuggle or cuddling with her peeps. She calls Granby (also known as Noodle) Noh-nee, I'm Mama, Chris is Daddy, my parents are Papa and Gaga (or one entity, PapaGaga) and my brother Thomas is simply, T.

It's both good and bad that Eloise is learning to repeat the words she hears us use over and over. When she finds a piece of dirt it is "yucky"; when her hands are caked with muffin they are "sticky" and when she falls down it's an "uh-oh" or "oops." Her ability to parrot what we say means that she is picking up on so much, but it also means that it's now time to truly watch our language.

Shit.