Happy Couple

Well, didjahear? Auntie Lynn and Uncle Matt are getting married. Finally, it's official. YAY for the happy couple!!!

Which for me means that I will be spending the next year helping Lynn plan and prepare for her winter wedding day. I will need to throw her a winter party, go on a winter diet, write a winter speech, and try to be the bestest big sister I can.

Can you say S-i-m-o-n?

Thinking back to when Carter was the same age that Isabelle is now....about 21 months....he, like her, was just starting to use his own version of 'words'. I use the word 'word' lightly. Since many of the things that Carter said and Isabelle says now at this young age are often jibberish. Yet, they tend to use the same jibberishy words....I find this so fascinating.

For example, Carter's first verbal identification of Simon was in the sound of the name "Me-Me". Why in the world he called Simon MeMe, we have no idea, because everyone I know called Simon by his name, which is to no surprise, SIMON. Not MeMe.

He did this for about 3-6 months, and then one day MeMe finally became Simon in the eyes of a 2 year old boy.

As Isabelle toys with different sounds every day, she babbles sounds of jibberish, just like Carter did. I was shocked recently when I made a startling realization...

Daily, she continues to point at something and shriek "Nee-Nee!", then runs around all happy and giddy. The first time I heard this I thought she saw Auntie Lynny walking past the window and that she was here for a surprise visit. After checking the driveway and finding no car belonging to an Auntie Lynny, I was perplexed as to what in the heck was this "Nee-Nee" that Isabelle is so enthusiastic over.

A day or two pass as this same "Nee-Nee" behavior continues, and it suddenly dawned on me: Belle is calling Simon "Nee-Nee". Can you believe it???!!!

Isn't it strange that Carter called Simon MeMe, and Belle, 22 months later, not being able to remember a day that someone called Simon MeMe, calls the dog NeeNee????????????

I wonder, is it a developmental thing that a child of this age would only be capable of making a certain kind of sound to say the same thing an adult would be able to say clearly?? They can't pronounce S-i-m-o-n, so possibly the closest thing to it that can come from their mouths is a two syllable MeMe or NeNe??????

If there were a 3rd child, would this child at approx 18 months be calling Simon some version of MeMe or NeeNee???????

I think I'm cracking the code of toddler language here! This is history in the making people!

(If anyone needs a translator for their toddler, I'd be happy to assist. A small fee may apply.)

This is so strange to me.....I told one of my co-workers this and she asked, "Well, what is something that the kids hear you say to Simon often?", suggesting that maybe they are mimicking me talking to the dog. The first thing that popped in to my mind INSTANTLY was, "SIMON, NO BARKING!", which surely doesn't translate to MeMe or NeNe.

blogging when I should be sleeping

Tonight at dinner I held up on my fork a huge slice of cooked carrot. I turned to Belle and said, "Look Belle, a carrot!" Isabelle, being the animal sounds genius that she is, said:

Belle: Moooo-o-o-o
Me: No, honey. Not Moooo.
Belle: ........(thinking)........OINK!
Me: No, not OINK, either.

I suppose in her little world of learning animal sounds everything MUST have its own sound.
Even a carrot.