Not a day goes by that I am not completely entertained by the things that the kids say. Whether it is a simple expression or a full conversation, I am constantly in awe of their vocabulary and amused by their thoughts.
Ava has always been very verbal, with an incredible vocabulary for such a little girl and very articulate. I fully expected her to take over Alex and speak for him, but that little guy really holds his own. He wants so badly to participate in the conversations, that he does his best to interject, share his thoughts, and express his opinion. There really is no need for tv or radio for me anymore, just listening to these two provides hours of entertainment!
Alex
Some of Alex's latest expressions are just too cute, and make me smile every time! Many of these expressions come from things that he is very much into lately.
For example, he loves to pretend he is talking on the phone. He walks around the house with old cell phones, and will say:
Alex: Just a minute, my phone is calling.
Me: Who is it?
Alex: It's a telemarketer (
said in a very as-a-matter-of-fact way - likely due to the fact that he feels that telemarketers should be talked to, since mommy refuses to answer the phone whenever unknown random numbers pop up).
We've also begun the potty training process with Alex, since he is showing an interest in it and they are working on it with him at school. Some of the expressions that have come with this adventure include:
"Xixi (
pronounced she-she) in the potty" - stated in a singing way every time he goes to the bathroom
"Cu-eh-qua" - His pronunciation for 'cueca' (underwear in Portuguese)
"Say 'potty' to go peepee in the toilet" - Alex tells me this to train me how they are attempting to potty train him at school, since apparently I should know how it is supposed to work ;)
And a few miscellaneous ones that I just love!
"Oh my goodness" - always said emphatically any time Alex is surprised, excited, or happy about something; like pizza for dinner, a package at the door, or seeing a lizard.
"That's terrible" - always said with a 'that's-too-bad' tone of voice to describe someone who got a scrape, bruise, or other injury. Sometimes it is shortened to just "terrible" when describing his own minor scrapes or dodois.
"Bur clok" = burp cloth for Sofia
"Lellow" = Yellow
"Baloo" = Blue
"Babojay" - a modified version of Voovoo's "Jabojay" term used a filler whenever the mood strikes. Alex will walk around singing to himself saying "babojay, babojay!!" as though it is a word that just feels good to say.
"buh-buh-mango" or "buh-buh-Marvin" - Alex's version of sounding things out. Ava often sounds out words to figure out what letter they start with, and Alex has begun copying her. However, he sticks with the sound of the letter 'B' for most things that begin with the letter 'M', thus the "buh-buh-mango".
"everything" - a word Alex likes to use when he is talking about something in a very "as a matter of fact" way, for example "Mommy, we need to go to Vovo's house to have lunch and swim and everything", or "At school I play with Marlowe, Ms. Jennifer, Ms. Virginia, everything". He is too cute for words!
Ava
We all know how expressive and wonderfully verbal Ava is, but I can't help but love the little mispronunciations and misuse of words that still linger considering she pronounces most everything so well. These include:
"May can I have?" = instead of simply
may I have
"Brocomoli" = guacamole
"Gravinoli"= ravioli
"cousins" - it's not mispronounced, but rather used for any family, whether aunts, uncles, or actual cousins
"million dollars" - used to describe anything in a large amount, whether or not it requires a dollar value. Examples include "I love you
a million dollars!" or "My school is a million million dollars from my house"
"DLS" - used to 'spell' words, since Daddy and I often spell words when trying to discuss something we aren't ready for the kids to chime in on. Ava uses it like this:
Ava: I want pizza.
Me: Pizza?
Ava: Yes, pizza, "D-L-S"
Ava, of course, continues to astound us with her abilities to catch on so quickly and to understand abstract concepts. The other day we drove by a power plant, and Ava asked what it was, how the electricity got there, how it breaks to make us lose power at our house, what it looks like, etc. Her questions were so deep and thought provoking, that Daddy and I had a hard time answering them ourselves.
I have never seen a 3-year-old make her own ponytails, using a hairband all by herself, without having been taught. She simply observed me doing it, then figured out how to do it on her own without looking. Her ponytail comes out perfectly in the back of her head, no knots, no stray hair, just a perfectly tied ponytail.
I was not aware little ones her age understood the concept of addition or subtraction. Ava is quite good at simple math, she is already able to understand 3+5=8 or 4-1=3, etc..
Even though she may not be able to spell quite yet, she is catching on. The other day I mentioned to Vovo that the kids liked jellybeans, so Vovo bought some. After nap at Vovo's house, this was our conversation:
Me: Ava, what would you like for snack?
Ava: What are my choices?
Vovo (telling me): I have J-E-L-L-Y...
Ava: J-E-L...jelly beans! (
with the biggest smile on her face, and with me and Vovo stunned that she figured out what we were saying!)
Ava also cracks me up with her frustration with curly hair and wanting straight hair. The other day at bed time she said the following prayer: "Thank you God for my family and my friends, and please give me straight hair because I don't like my curly hair...right now please" - too funny!
