Famous First Words
My daughter's first word was "away." Not "Mom" or "Dad" or even "puppy." Simply, "away."
Surprisingly, that one word worked overtime in providing her the ability to communicate in many situations. She said "away" when she was finished with something (as in "take away this bowl of cereal please") and when she wanted to go somewhere (as in "take me away from here"). She said "away" when she was cleaning up her toys, or when anyone left the room. In a way, it was a word that summed up her neat little firstborn, female world. She always liked things tidy and in their place, if she was finished with something she preferred it be removed from her presence completely, and she always kept tabs on the comings and goings of those around her.
It was not her only word for long, and by the time she was 14 months she had 14 words in her repertoire. Other phrases took the place of "away," and additional words augmented its meaning. Now, at 2 and a half, we sometimes long for those first 11 months where she was relatively silent on most issues...at least some of the time.
After my son was born, my husband and I naively asserted that at least he would be quieter. You know, the whole "boys being less verbal and more physical" argument? We comforted ourselves that at least only one of them would be talking non-stop, asking trivial questions and providing a back seat color commentary on life.
BOY were we wrong.
Initially, it appeared as though our son would fit that stereotype as he went after the more physical skills of crawling, standing and trying to walk much earlier than his sister. However, here we are only thirteen and a half months into his life and the first words have appeared. Among the odd utterance of "gecko," "Mama," and "Daddy," is the word that we hear on a very regular basis. A word that pretty much sums him up.
"Uh oh."
As in "Uh oh, I just dumped the entire contents of my breakfast plate all over the dining room floor." And, "Uh oh...I seem to have fallen into the bathtub fully clothed." And "Uh oh, somehow I managed to open the front door, and walk outside to the stairs where I am now perched precariously at the top, ready to step off and tumble headfirst down our very dangerous flight of 18 concrete steps."
We are trying to teach him that "Uh oh" is generally reserved for commenting on the accidental...not the intentional. For example, when you purposely throw your food across the table at your sister. In such situations, "Uh oh" is not usually deemed appropriate. Same goes when you deliberately crawl onto your sister's painting and sit cross-legged in the middle of her artwork. Again..."Uh oh" is not likely to pacify a screaming sister or convince your mother that you are indeed apologetic for the upcoming half hour she will have to spend removing the paint from the seat of your new pants.
Such an appropriate first word for such a destructive, bold and adventurous little boy. I expect that it won't be too long before we hear, "Oops," "Geronimo!" and "Duck!"
Surprisingly, that one word worked overtime in providing her the ability to communicate in many situations. She said "away" when she was finished with something (as in "take away this bowl of cereal please") and when she wanted to go somewhere (as in "take me away from here"). She said "away" when she was cleaning up her toys, or when anyone left the room. In a way, it was a word that summed up her neat little firstborn, female world. She always liked things tidy and in their place, if she was finished with something she preferred it be removed from her presence completely, and she always kept tabs on the comings and goings of those around her.
It was not her only word for long, and by the time she was 14 months she had 14 words in her repertoire. Other phrases took the place of "away," and additional words augmented its meaning. Now, at 2 and a half, we sometimes long for those first 11 months where she was relatively silent on most issues...at least some of the time.
After my son was born, my husband and I naively asserted that at least he would be quieter. You know, the whole "boys being less verbal and more physical" argument? We comforted ourselves that at least only one of them would be talking non-stop, asking trivial questions and providing a back seat color commentary on life.
BOY were we wrong.
Initially, it appeared as though our son would fit that stereotype as he went after the more physical skills of crawling, standing and trying to walk much earlier than his sister. However, here we are only thirteen and a half months into his life and the first words have appeared. Among the odd utterance of "gecko," "Mama," and "Daddy," is the word that we hear on a very regular basis. A word that pretty much sums him up.
"Uh oh."
As in "Uh oh, I just dumped the entire contents of my breakfast plate all over the dining room floor." And, "Uh oh...I seem to have fallen into the bathtub fully clothed." And "Uh oh, somehow I managed to open the front door, and walk outside to the stairs where I am now perched precariously at the top, ready to step off and tumble headfirst down our very dangerous flight of 18 concrete steps."
We are trying to teach him that "Uh oh" is generally reserved for commenting on the accidental...not the intentional. For example, when you purposely throw your food across the table at your sister. In such situations, "Uh oh" is not usually deemed appropriate. Same goes when you deliberately crawl onto your sister's painting and sit cross-legged in the middle of her artwork. Again..."Uh oh" is not likely to pacify a screaming sister or convince your mother that you are indeed apologetic for the upcoming half hour she will have to spend removing the paint from the seat of your new pants.
Such an appropriate first word for such a destructive, bold and adventurous little boy. I expect that it won't be too long before we hear, "Oops," "Geronimo!" and "Duck!"
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