29 May 2008 8:46 pm
Daddy's = Blankets
When Dylan was little, I thought it was strange that some two-year-olds used words that didn't sound like the word at all. Now that we have Andrea, it all makes sense. Dylan's pronunciation was very clear, very accurate. Granted we still had to try hard at times to understand him, and he got very frustrated when we didn't. Andrea is very patient with us. And she often needs to be. Sometimes, it still takes me a while to catch on.
One morning, I was leaving to take the kids to school and we were saying bye to Geoff. Andrea kept pointing at him, saying "Daddy." We couldn't figure out what she needed from Daddy, so I eventually pulled away from the house with her screaming. Part-way to school, it struck me. She didn't want Daddy, she wanted "daddys" and was pointing inside the house. Years of hearing us call the wool blanket Dylan is attached to "Daddy's blanket" have convinced her that a blanket is a "daddys." Once I realized what she wanted, she settled down. She didn't get her "daddys" because it was at home, but she was content that I was no longer a total idiot.
Another strange word that Andrea has is "da-doo", which somehow she has decided to call ice cream. I have no idea where that one originated, but she could show me the ice cream bars in the freezer to explain to me what she wanted. I think that it might refer to ice cream bars only.
Andrea's speech has come a long way since her 18-month check-up. She now frequently uses short sentences. Earlier this week, she told me that she did something at circle time at school. She also told me that she pushed down Dylan. I hope that she was referring to pretending to push her brother Dylan down before dinner, and that there was not a pushing incident at school with her friend Dylan.
