- when she sees Papa sitting too close to Mama?
"MYYYYYY!" (in loud warning tone, complete with a proprietary hand on Mama's shoulder)
- when she almost falls off the sofa but manages not to at the last minute?
"Oh my gott!"
- before she leaves for her first day of school after Christmas break?
"Bye-bye Papa, be good!"
I am beginning to understand now why all parents think their children are geniuses. For me, all Moppet's milestones before this pale in comparison. Sure it was exciting to see her roll, sit, stand, walk, run, and climb, but this - the talking - it just takes my breath away.
When she marches up to me and gives my hand a little shake and says 'How ARE ya?', flashing a toothy grin and looking for all the world like a pint-sized politician canvassing for my vote.
When she runs up with her little doodle board and asks me to draw her a motoboat, sailboat, fishboat, tugboat, and fewwyboat, all from the memory of the pictures in one of her books.
When, desperate to get away from my tickling fingers, she yells "Mama foal hans!" copying a trick we use (fold your arms) when she gets too fidgety.
When she climbs into a taxi with me and instructs the driver in a firm little voice to 'Lee kwa' (liaw khwaa, meaning 'turn right' in Thai).
When she points out the sights as we drive along, "Mama look! Pink umbella. Billoo kaa. Chishmish tee. Ellow bus. Again bus. Big bus. Wheels wound and wound. Mama sing!"
Somewhere in the back of my head I am aware that it's really just a normal part of growing up. All kids do it. But watching it unfold right before my eyes, at a speed that I cannot believe is real - it's like watching one of those Nat Geo videos where you see a flower bloom right in front of you.
There's nothing quite like it. Despite 25 plus years of using the english language, I still can't find the words to describe it.
22 comments:
MM - you make it sound so eminently desirable, I can't WAIT for Adi to start talking!!
Oh my Gott!!! I have to meet Moppet now to listen to her talk...
Lovely! However commonplace it may be, it is still completely magical:)
Oh! Moppet is such a darling.
I can understand what it feels like.Jelly has just started speaking a few words but how well she uses those words in the right context .........just makes me go crazy.
That is moppetism..she has gone long way around exploring the magic of words..
Feels very happy right, when the kids increase their vocabulary????I also feel the same, when Aryan talks new new words ...His latest is brbrbrbrrr..when he sees a vehicle...
Aryan's Mom
She sounds so adorable and so very observant little girl!
And isn't kiddie talk so awesome? I just love the way the talk and communicate. :D
aww! she sounds like so much fun!
i can't wait for my own moppet to start talking!
Oooh, you make me miss all the toddlers and babies even more! They've all grown up :(.
moppet sounds soo cute!
btw it is happening the second time around here and i still think my kid's a genius!
loved the analogy with the nat geo videos.
I agree!!! It's amazing because I think for the first time really really we get a glimpse of what they are thinking. I think the day Chip started to talk was when he became a real person. Before that, I suppse he was just a neandarthal :) And wait till she argues with impeccable logic :)
Awww...that's so cute! I agree with you....it's amazing when they start talking - one step closer to being the grown-ups they're slated to be.
Awww..so shweet. I just cannot imagine Aryan talking :)
Oh Moppet - so cute! Mama foal hans! :) Now you tell her to do that and obey you OK Moppet! :)
MM - Gosh yes it is so unbelievably enjoyable when they actually start having conversations with you. You can't stop marveling at the comprehension and complexity of sentences used...
You said it so beautifully ! Isn't it the best when they start to talk? I am still recovering from the Thai though, moppet is a genius !
I know what you mean. We're watching all this amazing development so closely for the first time, it seems a miracle that there can be such growth so quickly.
How're you doing othewise. We're staying on for a couple more weeks much to DD's chagrin :), just coz we can't bear to go back to boring old Singapore.
Beautiful! You couldn't have said it more perfectly than the reference to the nat geo videos. Your post unfolded in much the same manner.
And you're right...despite all the amazing physical milestones, it is the acquisition of words and means of communication that is the most astounding. I just can't wait for Sathya to get started. Can't wait!
So right! You laugh so much you fall off your chair, (Oh my Gott!)and you feel like holding these precious beings close to you and not letting them grow into those horrible creatures called adults.
What an adorable post! Baby talk is the cutest. Come back to this post in a few years when you're telling Moppet to please be quiet because you're trying to get things done.
you bet... just when you think the fun is over..something new begins. And now I thought i'd be blase about it when the Bean began.. but as she begins discovering words, i am thrilled anew... save these posts for when they are teenagers and we want to kill them.
It really is so much fun when they start talking...and then there comes a phase two years or so later when they never stop and you want to beg, bribe for two minutes of silence and you think to yourself...why? why did I do this to myself! :)
BTW, envy you for living in Bkk - lived there years ago and still have a warm spot for it in my heart.
u write well :)
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