Thursday, November 10, 2011

More talking... or Q & A?

As Mommy B mentioned in Alli's 12-month stats post, she's been "talking" a lot more lately. She's got her regulars - dada, mama, dog and ball. She's been working on some new ones and they are getting clearer each day - yah (yeah), nah (no), tank do (thank you). Some of these words aren't always prompted, but they are funny to hear nonetheless. Here's a good story about it:

Yesterday, I "worked from home" in the afternoon and we made a family trip to Lowe's to satisfy Mommy B's latest nesting desire (painting two-thirds of the house). There were a few things we needed to pick up, and I thought Alli would enjoy 1) getting out of the house for a bit, 2) watching Elmo on the DVD player in the car, and 3) people-watching at a hardware store. We'd kill two birds with one stone - entertain Alli for a while and pick up our needed supplies. Well, I was kinda right.

As anyone who has ever been in a home improvement store knows, they stock the shelves from the floor to the ceiling. This means there is plenty for Alli to play with/poke her eye out within her reach. I was on a mission, so I didn't really let her wander around and get into stuff that much. And the fact that I thought we'd be sending Alli off to college by the time they mixed up five gallons of paint didn't help the situation. She just wanted to run around and throw power-tools into the isle and I wouldn't let her down to do so. Obviously, this pissed her off - and rightfully so for a curious almost-13-month-old. Good times for everyone.

We finally headed to the checkout and Mommy B took over while I paid. Alli made a B-line for the sliding exit doors because I guess she wanted out of there pretty bad. She stopped at the closed door (which I guess doesn't open for midgets), wondering why it didn't open for her. When the "magic door" finally opened, she was so shocked that she just stood there for a few seconds. As the doors started closing, she stuck her hand out and got it smashed in between them. It really wasn't as bad as it sounds, but it obviously scared her a lot. I took her from Mommy B and within 30 seconds, she was fine again.

While walking out, Alli found a large stick that she apparently really wanted to take home with her. Mommy B picked her up and we tried to sweet-talk her into giving it up so we could leave. Well, she wasn't in the negotiating mood after the sliding door incident. This prompted Alli to start swinging the stick around like a club and caught her mother upside her dome piece (that would be her head for older Followers). Of course, that prompted me to grab the stick out of her death-grip - which in turn, prompted a mini-meltdown.

There we were, walking through the Lowe's parking lot with our painting supplies and a screaming toddler. We loaded everything in the car and fired up Alli's Elmo DVD. Naturally, the crying immediately stopped while Mommy B and I climbed in the front seats. Apparently whenever Elmo is around, all is right with the world. I turned around and asked her, "Are you okay now?" Alli looked at me for about a second and replied, "Yah."

Mommy B and I looked at each other and laughed hysterically. We couldn't believe that 1) she appeared to understand what we asked her, and b) responded with what sounded like a perfectly viable response. She did more of it later on that evening - appearing to actually answer our yes/no questions with her "yah" or "nah" responses. Looks like we could be in serious trouble here very soon...

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