Great Moments in Language Acquisition

Yesterday Jarrah slept in. Around 8:00, I opened her door, switched on the light and called "Good morning!" She sat up and regarded me blinkily. I approached.

"Mama," she began.

"Yes?" I said.

"Buh-bye."

"Buh-bye?" I echoed.

"Buh-bye. Lights. OFF."

And she fell back on the pillow. Oo-kay, then. I can take a hint.

*****

Last night I made her soup for dinner. Soup is her favorite food. Now, anything in a bowl has become soup--eggs, cereal, pasta. But that's another story. I approached her booster chair with the bowl of soup.

"Mmmmm, soup!" she said.

"Yes," I said. "It is indeed soup."

"Mmmm! Indeed soup."

Apparently, that's one of her favorites.

*****

Jarrah: (beating her fists on her snack tray) "LOLA, LOLA, LOLA, LOLA, LOLA!"

Sam: "Do you want to watch Charlie and Lola?"

Jarrah: "All right."

*****

Jarrah: (eating breakfast, with a lavish spread of tiny mandarin slices, tiny crackers and tiny hunks of cheese on her tray): "Oops!" (throws cracker on floor) "Oops!" (throws orange on floor) "Oops!" (throws cheese hunk on floor) [REPEAT UNTIL TRAY IS EMPTY]

Sam: (shielding eyes with hand, attempting to read paper and drink coffee): "..."

Jarrah: "Mama! Mama, mama, mama!"

Sam: "WHAT?"

Jarrah: "I hungry."