Pardon the poverty of formatting. I am still getting used to blogging with the iPad.
Margaret's recent posts about her 2-year-old's burgeoning vocabulary made me want to join in with a little vocabulary-blogging of my own.
I know it's indulgent, and maybe only the speech pathologists among my readers will be interested — but what's a blog for if you can't post cute kid pictures and anecdotes now and again?
Number four is seventeen months old, and his language is — if not quite taking off — definitely bumping along the runway and picking up speed. The unformed "ma ma ma ma ma" babble that has referred to me for many months now has only just crystallized into a clear, two-syllable "Mama." He does not say "no" yet, which is sort of surprising — all the others had "no" early — but he does shake his head emphatically, and when he does he means it. He nods vigorously for "yes," too, with a big smile.
We tried using sign with all four of our kids, with more or less success. This one wasn't interested until all of a sudden, around the time he started to say "mama," he began using several ASL signs at once: milk, more, toilet (which we also use for "diaper"), and an invented sign that appears to mean "HEY! THE CEILING FAN IS GOING! WHOAAAAA MY MIND IS SO BLOWN!"
I have heard him use each of the other kids' names on occasion, but not consistently. The only food he calls by name is "egg," and if he is hungry he will bring me a spatula and announce "egg! Egg!" He will also say "nack" if asked if he wants any meal or nibble. And then there is this exciting word-fragment, "vuh-vuh-vuh-vuh," that appears to mean both (1) any animal — especially, but not necessarily, a dog — and (2) also any sort of machine or vehicle that makes a motor noise.
But the importance of all these words and signs, useful as they are, pales in comparison with the most important word, the first one he learned, and the one he says all day long: "hot."
"Hot" has been the first word of all four of my kids — it comes easily when every adult around you has a cup of coffee or tea in hand most of the time! — but I have never seen another kid that was so into the concept of "hot." Every time he enters the room, my little guy looks around and quickly identifies every possible source of heat, pointing to each in turn (well, not pointing exactly, more holding his hand up in a sort of "halt!" gesture). Coffee cup on the table: hot. Toaster oven on the counter: hot. Teapot: hot. Microwave oven: hot. Any plate of cooked food set before him: hot. Open dishwasher: hot. Box of birthday candles: hot. Seatbelt buckle: hot. He likes to sit on the floor and stir a wooden spoon in a saucepan, happily chattering "hot hot hot" to himself.
The most interesting thing about this is that as time has gone on, he has generalized "hot" to mean not only "this thing could be at an elevated temperature" but also "this thing is something I am not supposed to touch." So, for example, Mama's eyeglasses are "hot." Daddy's smartphone is "hot." The bottle of wine on the dinner table is "hot." Sharpies are "hot." Mama's wallet is "hot." The older kids' schoolwork is "hot." And so on.
"We should teach him how to say 'verboten,'" Mark suggested last night. I know he will figure out the distinction eventually. For now we are just enjoying this extremely cute stage while it lasts. Babies don't keep, you know…
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