Talk This Way

Riley and Leah have started talking and now have a good 10 to 15 words in their arsenal, but I find that most of their words aren't necessarily the most practical in terms of communicating their wishes. Yes, it's very cool that they can now say "car" and "tree" and "flower" and "light" and stuff, but when Riley points to a tree and exuberantly says "Teeee!", pretty much all you can say back is "Yes, Riley, that is a tree." It's a pretty short conversation. And not exactly a very mentally stimulating one.

Leah currently likes to walk up to people, smile broadly, and say "Hi." It's very cute and charming, so even total strangers at the park will usually smile back and say "Hi". Then Leah, thinking this "Hi" thing is just about the coolest thing in the world, will smile back at the stranger and say "Hi". And of course, the stranger, not wanting to be rude to a baby, says "Hi" back. And then it ends up being this infinite Leah-says-hi-stranger-says-hi loop, which ends only when the stranger loses interest and walks away, leaving poor Leah with no recipient for her heartfelt greetings and good tidings.

For most things they want to communicate, Leah and Riley don't yet know the words, but they've been figuring out ways around that little problem. Let's say Riley is hungry and wants a snack:

1. First, she'll try to get her parents' attention by clearing her throat and pointing to her mouth.
2. If Option 1 fails, she'll start saying "Ahhhh" while repeatedly pointing to her mouth using a jabbing motion.
3. If mommy and daddy still aren't getting the hint, she'll increase the volume on the "Ahhhh" and will stick her finger inside her mouth like a hook in a fish's mouth.
4. If the message is somehow still not getting across, she'll sigh, get up, walk to the kitchen, and stare forlornly at the refrigerator until somebody gives her some frickin' food.
   

Riley's methods are quite effective.

Leah has an interesting noise that she makes when she really wants something that's either out of her reach or in Riley's possession. It's hard to convey what the noise is in writing, but okay, if I had to write it out, I would spell it like this:

"bidlde-bidlde-bidlde-BIDLDE-BIDLDE-BIDLDE"

Kathy disagrees with my spelling on that, but hey, it's the best I can come up with.

It's basically the sound you would make if you were talking and you suddenly lost control of your tongue and it suddenly just started bouncing around randomly in your mouth. When Leah does it, it starts out low and then gradually crescendos with increasing desperation, until it finally morphs into a full-blown cry.

Unfortunately for Miss Leah, her expression of desperation and longing sounds pretty darn hilarious. It's actually hard to keep from busting out laughing when she does it, which is probably not the reaction she's looking for. And often we'll spend a little too much time laughing and suddenly we have a crying Leah on our hands. But, hey, I suppose the whole thing's more entertaining than talking to Riley about trees again. Sorry, Riley.