04 March 2010

Elsie's Words

I suppose I should post these here, before I forget to post them anywhere!

Elsie has been talking a lot - often, she will pontificate on things we can't quite understand, but sometimes we get it.  Here's a list of her favorite words and phrases:

Who-datWho is that?  Not to be confused with "who-dey," of Cincinnati Bengals fame, this is her favorite phrase to date.  Whenever anyone calls on the phone or rings the doorbell, she immediately stares at me and asks "who-dat?"  Sometimes, when we hear noises that no one has apparently made, she asks "who-dat?"  Recently, she's been making it more of a game, and points at me, asking me, with a gleam in her eye, "who-dat?"  To which she promptly replies "Mama!"

MamaMama, mother.  Me.  This phrase is mostly used when someone is hungry.

DadaDaddy, father.  Nathan.  The best presentation of this is when Nathan gets home, unannounced, and Elsie hears his voice.  She runs top speed (which is rather fast for someone so short in stature) to him and grabs his leg, repeating with glee "Dada!  Dada!"

Hi!Hi, hello.  The best game ever when in the grocery store is to try to get people to say hello to you, especially if you are an outgoing baby named Elsie.  She will enthusiastically say "HI!" as loud as possible until the unaware passerby figures out that it is she who is being spoken to and returns the greeting.  This word is also used whenever Elsie commandeers a phone, which she tucks under her ear, and says "hi!"

Byee!'Bye, goodbye.  This is used when people are leaving, and sometimes, recently, when Elsie thinks that it's time for people to leave.

Bye-Bye, Baa:  'Bye-bye, bath.  A variation of "byee," this is the song we song when leaving the bath, and Elsie sometimes uses this when she longs for a sudsy rinse, but knows that it's not the time.

EyeEye.  Sometimes this comes out as "hi," but make no mistake, the fact that Elsie is poking you squarely and firmly in the eye while repeating this word makes it clear she is not saying hello.  Her Uncle Emeric taught this to her a few days ago and she has been vibrantly repeating it over and over, along with the aforementioned face jab.

GogoTotoro, as in "My Neighbor, Totoro."  This is Miss Elsie's favorite (and only) video to watch.  On especially cold days, or days when I want to clean uninterrupted, we will turn this on.

Uh-ohUh-oh, whoops!  This is usually coupled with an experiment to test the current working of gravity, i.e. whatever it was in her hand is now on the floor.  Yup, gravity is still working.

Mo'More.  I would normally count this as a sound rather than a word, except that it is accompanied by a hand sign, the American Sign Language sign for "more."  Hooray!

(Just as a side note, both spoken language and signed language are governed by the same area of the brain.  The reason that baby sign is so popular is because that part of the brain works quite well, but
long before all of the muscles are coordinated for spoken word.  Sign language is more easily expressed for babies than spoken language, at least for a while.  It is also a great way to understand your baby, and for her to feel less frustrated because she can communicate with you.)

Olivia demonstrates the sign for "More"

Olivia shows us Elsie's version of "more"

Gen'goGentle.  This is also accompanied by a sign, although it's not any official ASL sign - a "gentle" (sometimes not) stroking of the face, which evolved out of our demonstrations to her on how to gently interact with others.

Day'dooThank you.  Admittedly my proudest moment yet was when Elsie said "thank you" as she took a snack from my outstretched hand.    Hooray!

P.S.  Hi, Damina!! :)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

love it! :)damina