Language

Maybe it's because I am a linguist, but I just cannot get enough of watching (or maybe I should say listening to) Ethan's language develop. All little kids say cute, funny things that their parents are much more amused by  than anyone else would be. The same is true for our family. So, either humor me or skip this post ;).


A few months ago I asked Ethan a question. I can't remember what it was now, but I do remember that I expected him to say something in the negative. His response was:
     ETHAN: I amnt.
     ME: (totally confused) What did you say?
     ETHAN: I amnt.
     ME: (what is he saying?) You aren't?
     ETHAN: No, I AMNT!
     ME: (thinking I might be getting it) You are not?
     ETHAN: No, I AM NOT.
     ME: Laughter as I realize he had naturally drawn the conclusion that if you can use contractions for "are not" and "is not" than you must be able to do it for "am not". I LOVE it. Language acquisition is so fascinating!


I also just love to see Ethan's thought process. I am always trying to understand what is going on inside his little head. I know it must be working overtime. I really wish that I could listen to all his little thoughts :). That is one reason I love these next stories. They just let me know how he is thinking.


A month or so ago we were on a walk and Ethan was pointing out doors on houses. Here in Albuquerque there are a lot of additions built onto houses and often they have doors exiting from those additions so houses will then have two doors on the front. Ethan saw a house like this and said: Look, that house has two doors! He then continued to point out other doors that we were walking by:
     ETHAN: I wish I had that black door.
     ME: What would you do with it?
     ETHAN (stated as if it were obvious, which I guess it was): I would put it on my house. And I would open it. And go in the house.
Duh, mom!


Last night at about 7:30 PM Ethan and I were driving in the car on the way home from the doctor's (he has pink eye). Ethan had quite a few little conversations with himself and I was trying to stay quiet as I giggled up front so that he would keep talking. At first he was talking kind of nonsensically and then he started singing: "I'm squishing up my baby bumblebee won't my mommy be so proud of me, I'm squishing up my baby bumblebee-Eewwww! It's all over my sticker! (which he had just got from the doctor) *laugh* No, it's not!" Hahaha, I love how he responded to himself. As we had been leaving the doctor's he told me he was hungry and I told him that we would eat just as soon as we got home and that then it would be time for bed. After a few more minutes of quoting his current favorite book (Tough Boris, a pirate book: "He was tough, all pirates are tough. He was massive, all pirates are massive...") he starts talking to himself again. "It's bedtime! No, it's not! It's still light outside! Nope, it's sleepy time. But we will eat some dinner first. Okay, first I'll eat lunch and then I'll go to bed. Okay, then it will be night-night time. Okay (with a disappointed sighing sound to it)." Would you believe that he did voices and that one of them soundly suspiciously high pitched with intonation similar to mine? And that his voice had all the characters of a protesting teenager! It was too funny listening to him convince himself that he should go to bed. We must have conversations like this too often in our house ;).