I used to long for the day that Liam would speak in constructive sentences, telling me what he wanted to eat, where he wanted to go, etc. In my head these sentences sounded like this: “Mama! I would like to go to the park after I finish my kale and blueberry smoothie! But can you pack me some of those flax-seed crackers in case I’m still hungry?”
Months later and my little butcher is indeed speaking, though he still doesn’t ask for much in regards to food except meat and fruit and tortilla chips. But the sentences are mainly still unintelligible, a cross between what sounds like Italian and Cantonese. There are many distinctly clear words in these foreign sentences, a few of the most popular being, train, truck, bubble, ball, baby, Yolo (our cat), water, hat, wine, backpack, walk, and boat. There are words only Mark and I understand such as “woo-woo” (fire-truck,)”ee-cee” (airplane,) and “la-la-la” (guitar or piano or music notes.) And there are a few understandable sentences as well. “I love trains!!!!,” is very popular right now, as well as the always useful: “Oh NO,” “No WAY,” and “What’s THAT?” Repeat the last one 400 times in one minute for full effect.
Recently Mark and I realized we needed to perhaps work on our own language since Liam’s is developing so quickly. Specifically, I realized it would be really embarrassing for me personally when Liam starts going to preschool and is telling his friends to get off his motherfucking tricycle. So we are trying to replace all the words you can probably imagine we say, far too much, with the word “cuss.” This was not our brilliant idea, by the way, we stole it from the film version of “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” which was indeed fantastic and lived up to the book I grew up reading. More on that HERE. Anyway. Here’s an example.
Me: Liam! Don’t throw your cussing train at the cat!
Liam: Yolo! YOLO!!!!
Me: I will play with you and your trains, but Yolo does not want cuss to do with your cussing trains, Liam.
Liam: “I love trains! I LOVE the trains!! CHOO CHOOO!!!!”
Everyday as Liam’s speech progresses things get a little more interesting. His inflections are truly adorable, and I’m pretty sure I would think that even if I wasn’t his mama. His mannerisms and passion while babbling are commendable. And though I am aware he isn’t at the head of the pack in verbal ability, I still think he communicates what he wants better than most adults, so I couldn’t really give a cuss about it. Witness the little guy in action below….I’m doing most of the talking but Liam makes his point very clear.