All work and mo play makes Moe a moe moe.

We may have a major breakthrough in the language department. Yesterday I said that I didn’t think Abbie was speaking yet. Sure she can say “ma,” which Ellie interprets as “mama,” but I interpret that as random vocalization since she says it when mama is nowhere nearby. If Abbie would run to the door screaming “ma” when Ellie comes home instead of just giggling and shrieking, that I would see as speech. As it stands, when she says “ma” when I lay her on the changing table, I don’t believe she’s saying that she wants mama, much as I’d like to guilt Ellie into believing that Abbie really wants her to change her this time.

Sure she points a lot as well, which can be a form of language. Pointing says, “I want that,” or “hey, look at that,” or “that pile of diapers is what your parenting skills are equivalent to.” I still say that Abbie doesn’t point very much. She randomly points in her ham-fisted way while reading, but I think that’s more of an imitation of me pointing while reading than any desire on her part to point out interesting elements on the page. When she wants something of inherent interest to toddlers left just out of her reach, like the telephone or scissors, she stretches in an attempt to reach it, and whines when she fails. I don’t consider that communicating. If she would sit back and point and say “da,” or at least “ma,” or at the very least babble the toddler equivalent of “I want to chew on the screwdriver,” that would be communicating.

In an attempt to encourage her to start talking, I’ve developed a feeding ritual where before giving her a spoonful of toddler glop, I declare, “what do you say? More, please.” My intent is to force her to ask for more before every spoonful, which is a lesson that goes a lot smoother when she isn’t howling in protest because I’m delaying the administration of mashed banana. As a bonus, I’m teaching her the word “please” early in life so she can politely ask for things in the future, such as “can I chew on the toilet brush please?” I started this ritual over a month ago, and have since encouraged any sort of vocalization on her part with praise generally associated with puppies urinating outside the house for the first time.

Finally a couple days ago she rewarded me with a sound that definitely resembled “more.” It sounds like “mo” with a hint of an “r” at the end, and it comes at the right time. This pleased me more than seeing Corey Patterson held out of the starting line-up. I affirmed her attempt at communication, and repeated, “more, please” to keep the magic phrase fresh in her mind.

She got the hang of it pretty quick, and was soon intoning “mo” as fast as I could feed her. Little did I realize the demanding monster I was creating with my attempt to make her talk. Not only that, but the word “please” seems completely lost on her. I should have realized that toddlers don’t start with multi-word phrases, but my dreams of a well-mannered child interfered with reality. Instead, I give her a spoonful, and before she can even swallow she says “mo.” I support her with a hasty “that’s right, you want more” and spoon up more glop as quickly as possible while she keeps repeating “mo” every few seconds. Although now that I think about it, she may be saying “ma,” meaning she indisputably wants Ellie to feed her.