My toddler is slowly joining the world of the Spoken Word. We are getting better and better at understanding him, he is getting better at being understandable.
I am enjoying his special brand of toddler-speak: heavy on facial expressions and hand gestures, light on consonants and conjunctions. Sleep is "weep", please is "weese", sheep are "yeap", chocolate is "kockit", "I love you" is "zhuzh-oo"...you get the idea. I adore it.
One thing he says crystal clear is "thank you". I mean, it comes out "gangk-oo", but it was one of his first discernible phrases. And he expresses his thanks for every small kindness, any thoughtful gesture. He is the most polite and thankful person in our family when it comes to saying "thank you". I am amazed at how powerfully it affects me to be thanked. I mean, yes, of course good manners and gratitude are meaningful and all that. But the difference it makes in my heart is still sometimes a surprise. Particularly when it comes from such a small voice.
I am grateful for the sweet heart of my little boy. I am grateful for his gratitude. Is that redundante? Maybe. I am grateful for being better able to understand his wants and needs, and for the tantrums (mine AND his) it forestalls when we can communicate. I am grateful for the supreme cuteness of toddler-speak, and how much it adds to the joy of my routines. One small expression of "gangk-oo" never fails to put a smile on my face.
What are you blessed with today?
Thank you for reminding me. I forget, because so often I am only home when he is tired and grumpy and in need of discipline, but he is a sweet boy.
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