Don't Get Me Children

Olivia's language has really exploded recently. I suppose maybe that's what I'm always saying, but really it seems like it's been happening a LOT! Sort of like fireworks, but with a longer lag time than your average Fourth of July celebration, so that when the next explosion comes, you've almost forgotten that you were watching fireworks in the first place.

Or, and I may over-do myself here, a more apt example, albeit obscure, is the similarity to language development and a Wesley Willis song. The song opens with a loud repetitive verse, which sinks into the background during a long synthesizer interlude, and then you are suddenly awakened to the fact that you are listening to a song when another profound yet strange closing verse comes in.

And, along those same lines, Miss Olivia has been saying some pretty strange things recently. This afternoon, I've been regaled with a repeated "don't get me children" and just now, she's started into "don't get me mama."

Here are a few phrases which she has been trying out recently:

"Color dis" - What color is this? Usually repeated for a minimum of five minutes, often at the site of the same color, so I think that perhaps she is testing me on my chromatic skills.

"Daw kitty" - Draw kitty. Whenever she sees a pencil/pen/quill, she demands that this action be taken.

"Fowler seeds" - Please give me sunflower seeds. After slyly eating all of her Grampa's sunflower seeds during a visit in Ohio, we found out that she had a new favorite food.

"Can carry you" - Will you please carry me? This probably developed out of "Can I carry you?" which she was often asked when we are in a hurry.

"By self" - I will do it all by myself. In other words, keep your hands off. Usually used in pairing with car seats & child restraints in high chairs & shopping carts.

"Watch birdies pease" - A request to watch "Winged Migration," a movie about birds migrating.

"Nuss chair" - Nurse in the chair. Can also be rendered as "nuss bed," "nuss couch," and, occasionally, "nuss floor." Clearly, we are beginning to wean.

"Don't get me children" - as noted above, I have no idea what this means.