a language of her own

By May 4th of this year, Elida will be two years old.  I think it is common for children of this age to be sponge-like in their language development, and I am constantly astounded by how many new words Elida picks up every day.  Since she has started to speak, she has definitely developed some "Elida-isms".  Here are a few examples of the words she uses often and how she has chosen to say the word.  

Water= "wadoo"

Elida= "Ya Ya"

Iota (our golden retriever)= "I.O."

All Done= "All Doe"

Horse= "Neigh"

Sheep= "Bah"

shower= "show show"

TK(her cousin) = "T.T."

And the list goes on and on of words she has made her own.  She has many phrases that she uses many times on a daily basis. "Ya Ya do it." or  "Ya Ya fix it." applies to many situations.  "Mama, come?" she will pull out often, as she loves to invite everyone to join her in whatever fun is happening in that moment.  The down-side of my little girl being such a sponge is that she absorbs EVERYTHING I say, even when it may not be the best of examples.  One day I missed a turn when we were driving and I said a choice word, and from the backseat I hear a chorus of that word repeated again and again.  So, I am careful now.  She is listening.

As I reflect on all of my sweet little girl's words and phrases, I realize how much children change every single moment.  We blink and something is different. Even this morning, she clearly said "water please".   I sadly replied with "You mean 'wadoo', Elida?  Wadoo?".  "Yes Mama," she patiently said to me.  I grieve aspects of my baby that are no longer with us even in these two years- moments and periods of time that I savored.  And yet, I love this present moment too.  

Many people talk about the terrible two age. We've had some terrible moments before this age and I'm sure we will have some terrible ones this upcoming year too.  AND we have had terrific, amazing, so- astounding-it-has-made-me-have-tears moments too.  Those terrific and love-filled moments are much more plentiful (thankfully) and happen daily, and for that I am so grateful.  As my daughter turns two in a couple weeks, my hope is that I will stand right by her side in the present moment listening as she loudly sings along with all of us "Happy Birthday Ya Ya."