Toddler Talk

Yesterday's post's mention of our daughter and her language-learning suggested today's post: things our daughter does to amuse and/or exasperate us:

She has long loved phones, and will play with ours when they come within reach. She walks around, babbling away happily, but her conversations always start "Hello, this is John."

The other night while we were packing stuff, from the dinner table she yells out "I eat bread, okay?!" And sure enough, there she was with a loaf of Italian bread, gnawing away at it. She sat there and ate most of a loaf. Okay?!

Not too long after that, Lauren noticed her apparently painting. Painting the table and chairs. With butter. Not okay.

Last night, we caught her dipping water out of the dog's dish. When we said "No!" she dipped in one more time and backed away from the dish as she poured it on the floor. "Me wash floor!"

She can dutifully recite to us the information that if she's "naughty," "Santa no bring presents." She also knows that, among the presents she won't be brought, what she wants includes "kitchen," "phone," and doll house." When it comes to defining naughtiness, she can tell you "Me no touch TV." Of course, that doesn't stop her.

Speaking of presents, she was looking through the presents at grandma's house, she picked up one that was rectangular and thin and said "book." There's no fooling her, evidently.

For weeks now, she's been saying "Me help you," which we thought was a very nice, giving thing to say, even if we didn't need her help. Until we realized that she's actually saying that she needs our help. Which is useful information for us to know, I suppose.

She's gotten better about telling us when, for instance, she has a mess in her diaper, though she does sometimes give false positives in that regard, but when we say "Let's go change your diaper," she insists "No! I okay!" Even when she's got a poo-filled diaper or has pee soaking her clothes. "I okay!"