Becoming a Conversationalist

Sometime around October, I began jotting down all the words Hadley could say with the intention of writing a post about her vocabulary development. I wrote one about Caleb when he was around 18 months old and wanted to have the comparison to see what each of them was saying around that age. However, I got distracted by all those Christmas time posts and then one thing after another came up, so it never got done.

To sit down and try to write all the words Hadley has mastered at this point would be impossible. She pretty much can repeat anything you say and often does. Our little girl began using three and four word phrases to communicate months ago and now is quite the little conversationalist.

Rather than give you a long list of words that she uses these days, I thought it would be more memorable to record a few unique Hadleyisms - words and phrases that really characterize her.

Back in the fall, one of these phrases was: "I did it!" We heard those three little words out of her mouth multiple times a day as she proudly proclaimed that she'd accomplished something. We aren't sure if she picked it up from watching Dora at Granny's or what, but I loved hearing her enthusiasm each time it popped out of her precious toddler lips. Sadly, this adorable phrase has already pretty much completely faded in usage, but now more fun words are tumbling out.

Not long after the "I did it" phase, she also began to get really good at getting her point across. "I want it!" or "Don't want it!" were phrases we heard frequently (and still do).  She is so animated when she's communicating her preferences too. Sometimes she'll scrunch her little face, make pouty lips, and furrow that brow. I used to especially love to watch her expression when she'd to question: "uh oh...happened?" It was so comical that it was hard not to giggle when she was being so serious.

All the above sayings are ones you might hear any toddler babbling though, so here is a "Dictionary of Hadley Sayings" that really show you what a little hoot she is:

1. "YEEEEE HAAAAAAAAAA!" That's right, partners We've got ourselves a real cowgirl. When she gets on the rocking horse Pop bought her for her first birthday or climbs on Daddy's back, expect it! "YEEEEE HAAAA! It's all drawn out and loud of course, just like any real hoot and hollerin' cowgirl would do it.

One day Caleb was using his toy tape measure as a lasso and Hadley was convinced that it really was one. "Lasso, lasso!" she'd yell. Other things have become lassos too now; while Caleb uses larger items like the belt on my bathrobe, Hadley can make a lasso out of a small piece of ribbon she found laying around or even a piece of chicken on her dinner plate. She'll start twirling it around and then you know it's coming, either a "YEEEEE HAAAA...I'm a cowboy!" or "Lasso, Lasso...I need a horsie!"

2. "Huggy Huggy" means "I want you to pick me up." She'll stand beside our legs with arms stretched up, hoping we'll stop what we're doing and hold her. Usually it's somewhat of an impatient plea or even a slightly pitiful request because she's tired or needing comfort, but it's still such an adorable saying. On occasion she might say "I want to hold you" instead, but usually if she's ready to be scooped up "huggy, huggy" is the phrase of choice.

3. Frequently, if Dave can't pick her up at that moment, he'll sympathetically say, "Honey, Daddy can't pick you up right now," or something along those lines. Actually, both of us call her "honey" on a regular basis, and as a result, she's also picked up this term, though she uses it a little differently than most people do. Rather than than saying it as a nickname, when "Honey, Honey" comes out of her little lips it means "I want." Usually she'll say it because she wants you to pick her up, but it can mean she wants other things too like a toy or something to eat. She'll plead expectantly until you just can't help but bend down to lift her up or hand her what she's requesting.

4. And, while we're on the topic of nicknames, let's talk about a few she has for her brothers. Almost from the time she really began speaking she's called Caleb "Bruh-der." Though he calls himself "Cay-Cay," which I think is much easier to say, she went this route instead for some reason. When Reid came along though, we weren't sure how that was going to work since she now had two "bruh-ders." However, for Hadley it was never a problem. Reid immediately became "Baby" and Caleb stayed "Bruh-der." Eventually this shifted to "Baby bruh-der" on occasion and now she'll often even say "Baby Reid" (notice that she never forgets the baby part). Hadley started calling Caleb "Cay-bull" a little at one point but that didn't stick. Now we'll hear "Cay-Cay" pretty regularly although she still mostly sticks with her original nickname for him.

5. Hadley also has a few phrases you'll hear her using frequently with her brothers. "I got you!" she'll tell Reid as she's trying to grab him by the leg or squeeze him in a big hug (meanwhile I'm trying to loosen her grip a bit so the poor kid can breathe). "Here ya go," she announces as she hands one of them a toy. (Reid is likely to accept the gesture with enthusiasm, but Caleb usually replies "I don't want that." Oh, siblings...)

6. We are also beginning to hear the possessive pronoun "my" a lot out of Hadley's little mouth as she's gained the ability to let everyone know what belongs to her. However, she also uses "my" in place of the word "I" or the phrase "I am."  "My do it"..."My go potty"..."My wear a shirt"..."My eat it"...."My color" If you listen closely you'll catch her doing it at least a couple times in this video:

7. On another note, two or three months ago, Hadley kept going to the door crying, "Wanna go home. Wanna get in the car." Despite my best efforts, to explain that she was home already, she just kept asking over and over. Finally Dave and I realized that whenever her grandparents visit, we always say they are "going home" when they leave. In her head, it seems she's reversed the meaning of the phrase go home as a result. I love these cute mishaps. (Aside from asking to "go home," she'll also frequently tell us: "Wanna go to church," which makes my heart smile.)

I know there are so many more that I'm forgetting and a blog post just can't get the job done of showing how precious these sayings are to me. I wish I could catch them all on video so I'd never forget how sweet she sounded at this age but it's hard to always be ready with the camera and staging it doesn't have quite the same effect. Guess I'll just have to live in the moment now and soak her up...