Language - A Mixed Bag

Now, we've all heard the phrase, "little pitchers have big ears," and my husband and I have tried very hard to curb our language since having a baby. We were pretty good the first week (honestly, we were so tired that our language resembled that of a toddler: bed, food, bed, water, bed, bathroom, bed, ick - what the hell is that?!?). But we relaxed a bit when we realized it would be weeks, months even, before she would start copying what we say. Unfortunately, it's a subtle, gentle slope into mimicry, and you seem to realize overnight that you now have a copy cat on your hands.

We had started her on sign language, and luckily the few key signs we knew didn't include anything embarrasing. But as is often the case, one day I dropped something heavy on my foot (or she might have thrown something heavy on my foot, both of which are equally likely) and I started to say "oh shhhh . . . oot!" For someone who's not into sports, this was a game-winning save. And seconds later, she could be heard going around saying "oh shoot!" Of course, then she also tried to say "sit!" which sounds a lot like the same four-letter word I had just avoided saying, so it's a bit of a wash on that one. And she happily continues to repeat phrases, with or without prompting.

Discipline becomes more difficult when they start to vocalize as well. Much as I try to correct certain behaviors, it's much harder when you are trying not to laugh. For instance, she likes to get water from the refrigerator door for her cup, take a couple of sips, then deliberately dump the rest on the floor, look at me smiling, and utter "oh Charlotte!" and sometimes an "oh shoot!" or an "uh-oh" as well. Or we'll try to teach her moderation and tell her she can only have "one" and hold up one finger, to which she will repeat "one" and hold up a finger, accept the treat, and then come back for another morsel a minute later. When you say "no, you've had your one piece" (and yes, it's usually chocolate here), she'll look at you winningly and say "one" and hold up her little finger and then say (and sign) "peas?" (please) and "took-oo" (thank you) unprompted. It's hard to hold out against that kind of blatant manipulation. And there's nothing more endearing than hearing that little voice ask for a "cup-a-tea?"

One of the more endearing side-effects of living with a little parrot however is that you also learn more about yourself. Little idiosyncrasies you may never have realized you possess are repeated often and eventually you realize where they learned all of these funny little actions. For instance, she went through a phase where she would hold her arms and hands out in a "I don't know" kind of expression and would answer questions with this cute little stance. This puzzled me for days until I finally asked my husband, "that's so cute, but I don't know where she picked that up" and then proceeded to do the exact same hand/arm motion. Or when she started to say "sorry" as she shoved past us to get somewhere - apparently I do this too in lieu of "excuse me."

For now, her vocabulary at 18 months was just over 200 words and none of them included words above a PG rating. So we'll just sit back and enjoy the ride and if every once in a while, we have some fun with it and teach her to repeat "fruit, peasant!" while pointing at her father and then her snack cabinet, or teach her to say "silly daddy" in response to anything her father states, well, that's just the perk of raising a child. Next up, the lyrics to "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot.