Words

When life is being hard and work has just taken 90% of my time (hate to divide the remaining to travel time to and from work, sleep and family), nothing makes me any happier than seeing my kid forever jolly, healthy and chatty. I swear not a day goes by that I do not miss her. I do fall in love with her every. single. day. and that is not exaggeration. Someday (if not at present) I hope you'll get to understand what I mean. I am beginning to think I am becoming obsessed of her. But then again maybe most moms are with their kids, or firstborns for that matter. 

What hooks me currently is my fondness for talking to Amber and elicit hilarious, but innocent and honest responses. She's so madaldal and it's funny because she's bulol pa syempre, couldn't pronounce some words correctly, though she has a maarte tone (I know what you're thinking) so it gets me every time. I introduce words to her and their meanings as simple and basic as possible but she gives so much emotion on them as she speak them hence the tone. She's quite a character.

At 2 years and 3 months, Amber can already express what she wants verbally. Generally, Amber still speaks in codes, word after word after word. No conjunctions yet but the good thing is it's quite clear what she wants to communicate. And as a mom, that is much of a help. Unlike when a baby cries (their only form of communication) you have no idea why - hurt? hungry? pooped? and a hundred more hunches. Now, she tells me when she's hurt, including where and what I should do (yes, demanding). When she feels itch on a certain part of her body she'll scratch it and say "Mummy, itchy. Creaaaaammm pleasssssse." and she won't stop until you move. When her tooth aches, she says and act it followed by "Clean teeth. Toothbrush." She can already say it as well when she's going to pee or poop but most times she confuses between the two and uhmmm the timing is still poor. Hahaha! 

Another thing that's also nice about her is that she's cooperative when she mispronounce words or choose the wrong term and I correct her. She'll repeat them with me for a few times and then change mood, then no more. I guess kids her age gets tired easily of these sort of lessons so I stop. And then the next thing I hear her say those words after a few days, she's saying (and associating them) correctly. Amazing (and amusing!) right? With that, I always make it habit of making a conversation with her. When I get home everyday I try to engage her to telling me things like what she did the whole day, or what she ate, or what she watched. At first I try to get responses by saying a sample of what she can tell me like, "did you take a nap this afternoon?" or "have you seen Hi-5 this morning?" and then follow it with a "yes?" "no?". She would just echo each of those things the first few days but after some time I am surprised  I no longer have to answer for her as she would happily respond to me on her own. Presently, when I ask her via phone "What are you doing?" she''ll answer me "Watching TV Show." then followed by "bye." hahahah short attention span pa. 

So no matter how repetitive the answers I get, I never get tired because by frequent conversations they learn to talk and communicate. They learn to express their wants, needs and emotions verbally. Not to mention the amusement you get hearing them utter new words you haven't taught them yet. I get so fired up when I hear her say something I once believe is unfamiliar to her. Or when she corrects me! And did I mention she's so creative and patient acting out the meaning of some words we don't understand her say? She'd patiently repeat them to us until we get it right. Or she'll act it out. Hahaha! Once when commercial about the TV premier of The Little Mermaid at Disney Junior keeps on appearing for weeks, I heard her say 'Memeid' to her dad one evening while they are playing. Jay couldn't understand it so Amber keeps on repeating the word. I was already in bed then when I sat up and look at Amber. I saw her sitting on the Edge of the bed as she moves her legs covered of blanket up and down. "Dad it's mermaid!", I told Jay and we both laugh. I find it so entertaining guessing what Amber is saying as much as knowing how she learned them. It's true that kids her age's mind is like a sponge. They absorb what they hear and see and it's quite a challenge for parents to teach them unlearn some of those that are not good or right for them. That is why it is very important that you watch your words (and actions) when you are with them. They learn so fast and it is such a wonderful feeling knowing they get something from what you tell them, show them or make them feel.

All of these are the things that keeps me going no matter how hard it is to get by a work week. When I had a bad day at the office, I know I'll come home to someone who's so eager to see me and who have waited all day for my phone, este for me pala. Hahaha. When I arrived at the door and she sees me, she'll cheerfully offer what she's currently eating, or tell me what's she watching at the moment. It's never a dull moment with her. No matter how tired and hungry I am when I get home, when she says "Mummy let's play tea party. sit," I am obliged. Seeing how she learns day after day never fails to pinch my heart. It's such a wonderful journey to see her fill her mind and heart all of the good things of the world. Amber and I learn together. We bond through play, we learn through play. And there is nothing in this world that could make me any happier than her. :)