Adding Vocabulary

As Gunnar closes in on the two-year mark (he turns two next March), he has passed a key developmental mile-mark. That's right, he has begun to speak. Here are a few of his words, their meanings, and how they are used in day-to-day speech.

"Uh-oh." This phrase is used immediately prior to throwing something to the ground. Note: the more the item can splat or splatter, the better. Example: "Uh-oh!" [throws open cup of milk from high chair to floor].

"Apple." This word applies to anything edible. Except apples. While he'll eat apple sauce like a champ, he doesn't usually prefer to put apples in his mouth -- unless they are covered with peanut butter, in which case he will lick off the peanut butter and then throw apple slice to ground (see "uh-oh). Example: [Sees my plate of curry potatoes, vegetables, and beet salad]. "Apple!"

"Deet-doe." This phrase means "here I go" or "here we go." Usually used in a command form i.e. "Here I go and you are coming with me." Example: [Sees that I have sat down after a particularly strenuous activity]. "Deet-doe!"

Meanwhile, Gunnar continues to use another language for a high percentage of his conversation. As he learns more English, I will be sure to ask him before he forgets about what he was saying in that other foreign language. Some of it sounded pretty important.