baby talk
I'm not the gal who goes up to babies saying "aw, whadda wittle cutie baby-boo-boo-boo..." with a higher and higher raise of inflection in my voice. I don't...well...try not to judge people that do. I totally get it. Babies are sticking adorable, and they babble so we want to sweet talk to them the way they babble back at us...
I blame my brothers for this twitching annoyance of baby talk. All kids go through a phase where they think talking like little babies is the best game ever. It just so happened that my four brother (all about a year and a half apart from each other) went through the phase at the same time. Now the youngest, Matty, was sort of still a baby and couldn't help himself entirely. He probably gave the older boys some great ideas and mimicking material. This was also the time in our lives when we lived in Maine and would often go down to visit family in Connecticut a mere 5 hour drive. But 5 hours of baby talk was mind melting, and as a pre-teen/teenager I was so not impressed with them. And they totally knew it. I can see their little smiling faces now... looking over to make sure I was watching them and then talking a little louder. I would slam my face into my arms and try to escape it... but they knew I couldn't. They won.
My brothers, I'm proud to day, moved past that phase. And helped my younger sister through it as well (when she thought it was fun, they finally understood the torture they had put me through and made sure she realized how not cool it actually was. Poor Glenna.)
so yeah, baby talk. not a favorite. but babies talking? oh yes please. It is amazing to me to watch my little Wes learn to communicate. Nik and I weren't really interested with sign language (even though we have heard many people who say its amazing) we wanted to see what Wes would do on his own. And together we have started our own little language and ways of communicating that make my heart smile.
Here's a little bit of the baby talk I love:
"All Done." Wes cannot say those words yet, so every time he was looking finished on his high chair, I wanted to make sure he was full and not just bored. So I would put out my hands out, almost like I was going to pick him up, and say "all done?" sometimes he would smile at me, and sometimes he's remain fussy and confused...but eventually he copied me. Not just with his hands out, before that he'd clap. So for when Wes is finished he claps twice and then puts his hands out. And this is not just finished with food, but bath time, being in his room, in his car seat, stroller or whatever. It's adorable.
"Yay!" When Wes has done something good I've wanted to show him that very clearly. So I grab him up and would hug him. I quickly found that this was irritating because it got in the way of what he was doing or where he was going. So instead I started to clap and smile at him. When he's happy or proud of himself or even when he thinks something is really great or funny he'll clap now. (that's why when he's all done he claps first.)
"No, no, no, baby." When we were little Dad used to say those words in a silly voice when us kids were doing something silly that we shouldn't do. It was his way of not sounding upset or strict, but still making it clear that we should knock it off. A perfect example is when the boys would crawl off and he was tired of chasing after them or they were making a mess on their high chairs. I started saying this to Wes when he'd do similar things (harmless no's) and shaking my head. Now when I say "no, no, no, baby." he stops, smiles and shakes his head. He may or may not actually crawl back or stop making a mess, but he's catching on.
"Pointing." Sometimes Wes needs my help. He is going through a phase where he likes to check under things, under his crib, under the couch, under the dresser...any piece of furniture that has a crack between it and the floor. He's checking for any toy or item that doesn't belong. He'll try to stretch his hand out and get it himself, but he can't usually grab it. So he'll point to me. That means I need to try. Sometimes he wants to try himself, so he'll point to himself and give it another go and then usually ends up pointing for me to try.
He is also learning what things are (around the house/outside/in books) and points like crazy and says "That!" (sometimes it sounds more like "shit." ha, which is too funny.)
"Ba-ba-ba-ba." This typically means "please" or "more" or "yes." We haven't quite nailed it down. It started with me asking him to say "please ba ba." for his bottle, he just took the 'ba ba' part and decided that's what he needs to say to get something. I'm very okay with this. It definitely beats the whining and pointing.
"Dada, Mama." of course there's us. If you ask Wes where his Da Da is, he looks (and usually tackles) right at Nik. And the same goes for Ma Ma. Mama took a while, but he at last gave me the satisfaction of hearing it and knowing it was me.
"Strong." Most babies learn the "How big is baby?" "So big!" and they throw their hands up! Well, Wes didn't quite get that, but if you ask him "How strong is Westley?" He immediately makes two fists and squeezes them so tight making a I'm-squeezing-my-fists-as-tight-as-I-can-face. Its adorable.
We are working on "hugs." He LOVES to squeeze and cuddle with his stuff animals. He has a few little stuffed animals that are favorites and some of them get death grips and others he just rubs so gently on his face. He loves to pet the dogs and pet them sweetly one minute and then grab their fur in the next. I think he might have his daddy's big ol' heart.
He waves bye bye and waves hi to almost everyone he sees and always seems to have a smile on his face. Every day he seems to learn something knew or catch on to one more thing. I am so proud of him and all that he does. I am so blessed to have such a spirited kid with the biggest heart.
I can't wait to see what he's up to tomorrow...
I blame my brothers for this twitching annoyance of baby talk. All kids go through a phase where they think talking like little babies is the best game ever. It just so happened that my four brother (all about a year and a half apart from each other) went through the phase at the same time. Now the youngest, Matty, was sort of still a baby and couldn't help himself entirely. He probably gave the older boys some great ideas and mimicking material. This was also the time in our lives when we lived in Maine and would often go down to visit family in Connecticut a mere 5 hour drive. But 5 hours of baby talk was mind melting, and as a pre-teen/teenager I was so not impressed with them. And they totally knew it. I can see their little smiling faces now... looking over to make sure I was watching them and then talking a little louder. I would slam my face into my arms and try to escape it... but they knew I couldn't. They won.
My brothers, I'm proud to day, moved past that phase. And helped my younger sister through it as well (when she thought it was fun, they finally understood the torture they had put me through and made sure she realized how not cool it actually was. Poor Glenna.)
so yeah, baby talk. not a favorite. but babies talking? oh yes please. It is amazing to me to watch my little Wes learn to communicate. Nik and I weren't really interested with sign language (even though we have heard many people who say its amazing) we wanted to see what Wes would do on his own. And together we have started our own little language and ways of communicating that make my heart smile.
Here's a little bit of the baby talk I love:
"All Done." Wes cannot say those words yet, so every time he was looking finished on his high chair, I wanted to make sure he was full and not just bored. So I would put out my hands out, almost like I was going to pick him up, and say "all done?" sometimes he would smile at me, and sometimes he's remain fussy and confused...but eventually he copied me. Not just with his hands out, before that he'd clap. So for when Wes is finished he claps twice and then puts his hands out. And this is not just finished with food, but bath time, being in his room, in his car seat, stroller or whatever. It's adorable.
"Yay!" When Wes has done something good I've wanted to show him that very clearly. So I grab him up and would hug him. I quickly found that this was irritating because it got in the way of what he was doing or where he was going. So instead I started to clap and smile at him. When he's happy or proud of himself or even when he thinks something is really great or funny he'll clap now. (that's why when he's all done he claps first.)
"No, no, no, baby." When we were little Dad used to say those words in a silly voice when us kids were doing something silly that we shouldn't do. It was his way of not sounding upset or strict, but still making it clear that we should knock it off. A perfect example is when the boys would crawl off and he was tired of chasing after them or they were making a mess on their high chairs. I started saying this to Wes when he'd do similar things (harmless no's) and shaking my head. Now when I say "no, no, no, baby." he stops, smiles and shakes his head. He may or may not actually crawl back or stop making a mess, but he's catching on.
"Pointing." Sometimes Wes needs my help. He is going through a phase where he likes to check under things, under his crib, under the couch, under the dresser...any piece of furniture that has a crack between it and the floor. He's checking for any toy or item that doesn't belong. He'll try to stretch his hand out and get it himself, but he can't usually grab it. So he'll point to me. That means I need to try. Sometimes he wants to try himself, so he'll point to himself and give it another go and then usually ends up pointing for me to try.
He is also learning what things are (around the house/outside/in books) and points like crazy and says "That!" (sometimes it sounds more like "shit." ha, which is too funny.)
"Ba-ba-ba-ba." This typically means "please" or "more" or "yes." We haven't quite nailed it down. It started with me asking him to say "please ba ba." for his bottle, he just took the 'ba ba' part and decided that's what he needs to say to get something. I'm very okay with this. It definitely beats the whining and pointing.
"Dada, Mama." of course there's us. If you ask Wes where his Da Da is, he looks (and usually tackles) right at Nik. And the same goes for Ma Ma. Mama took a while, but he at last gave me the satisfaction of hearing it and knowing it was me.
"Strong." Most babies learn the "How big is baby?" "So big!" and they throw their hands up! Well, Wes didn't quite get that, but if you ask him "How strong is Westley?" He immediately makes two fists and squeezes them so tight making a I'm-squeezing-my-fists-as-tight-as-I-can-face. Its adorable.
We are working on "hugs." He LOVES to squeeze and cuddle with his stuff animals. He has a few little stuffed animals that are favorites and some of them get death grips and others he just rubs so gently on his face. He loves to pet the dogs and pet them sweetly one minute and then grab their fur in the next. I think he might have his daddy's big ol' heart.
He waves bye bye and waves hi to almost everyone he sees and always seems to have a smile on his face. Every day he seems to learn something knew or catch on to one more thing. I am so proud of him and all that he does. I am so blessed to have such a spirited kid with the biggest heart.
I can't wait to see what he's up to tomorrow...
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