t h e m o n t h o f w o r d s
it started
in early february
with the word
"hot"
as i was warning
her about
touching
the red lever
on the water cooler
outside
in the palapa...
soon
she began
to repeat
many words
we said to her
and
she clearly
understood
what they meant.
hot
light
bubbles
book
agua
aretes
chat
hop
cheese
please
all done
c'est tout
i find it
interesting
that
as her speech
develops
she often
babbles-
a nonsensical
string of
unintelligible
words
that
we
associate
with toddlers.
i realize
that she
is trying out
new sounds.
recognisable words
can be heard
among the babble.
sometimes
the sounds
are mostly
french,
sometimes
the sounds
are clearly
english.
she clearly
prefers words
in certain languages
over others.
aqua, not water
light, not lumière
chat, not cat or kitty
an accumulation
of words
in the language
of valérie.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
this month
we left
sunny
mexico...
and headed to
the northwest...
via texas...
and stayed
in
rainy
seattle
for a few weeks...
with
grub's clan,
grandma & grandpa...
where
vee was
obsessed
with
le chat.
then
visiting friends...
and
ending up
with
the bugheart clan...
including
a special visit
from her
great aunts
(tante omas)!
but
vee had
eyes only
for
le chien.
"charlie"
(the dog's name)
was her favorite
word to say.
then
we
finally
headed
home.
to
cold
switzerland.
it seemed
like
a very long
month.
we were
exhausted.
and
another
month had
gone by...
xo
