Felix is learning language. Mostly English but some Polish words as well. I speak to him in Polish and he understands but usually he picks up the English words first. That is not to say that he picks them up perfectly.
His first sounds I claim to be "gaw" at the 4-5 month mark. His most unforgetable word was "ludulu" and he would "lodl" along for whole sentences. This soon died down as a conversation but became his word for drink/water "ludlu" said in such a fast fashion that both Sarah and my self could not replicate it well. We knew what it meant so we gave him water.
After Ludlu, his next most notable word mix up was "e-ha-ha" said in a cow boy manner to mean exactly that, a horse. I believe this started around Christmas 2005 when we went to Buchan on a day trip from Lake Tyres, sitting in a picnic area, Jane his grandma pointed to some horses in the paddock and "e-ha-ha" was born. Although this is still used in the playfull context, a horse is now a horse and has been for a few months.
In the last few days he has finally got the difference between "you" and "me" sorted out. It was "you want thomas" for I want to play with Thomas the tank engine for months now. In desperate times he would use "you me, you me" can't go too bed hedging your bet both ways.
Tonight he is still saying "ephelant" for elephant and he still uses the outward hand on the mouth as a form of kid sign language.
His most anoying phrase would have to be "look at me mummy" for when he wants to talk to Sarah. I think he picked this up from Sarah when she would say "Felix, look at me when you are talking, please use your words".
I strongly believe in allowing kids to have their little made up words but not confusing them by using them yourself. I have enjoyed each of his mix ups and sure enough, soon enuogh he has grown out of each one of them. I have just had to use plain old english and try and remember that I have had my go as a kid. There are obviously exceptions. I still have made up words: "hunka" for chasing Felix around the house pretending to eat him, "nappa" as a way of saying nappy and ending up also having to chase him, "pukka" as a way of naming the dogs, it just seems to rhyme, "pukka chhina" for zucchini.
Then there is his latest made up word, comming from chocloate easter eggs, a mix from the English "chocolate" and Polish "czekolada" being "checolati" sounding like "gelati" so irresistable for me not to join him in saying it.
As for Matilda, well at 7 months it is hard to call anything talking but she is definitely going to be as talkative as Felix if not more. She is a girl after all and if she is anything like her mother ... Well we have played around with the hand over the mouth, ala indian call, made up talking which she has taken to as much as Felix at a similar age. I belive she has gone one further, grabbing hand in hand and hitting her mouth rhythmicaly at the same time as saying an "ahhhhh" getting the same effect of seperate words sounds that tie into a sentence of sorts "ahh ahhh ahhh"
We have also found that Matlida seems very much more controlled in all her actions, wether moving, crawling, rolling or making sounds. Felix had seemed to have a few more accidents as he would over balance, shout and never really mastered rolling over. Well Matilda seems to be saying a few similar sounds on que, "tata" for dad and "poo" when she has a poo in her nappy. Both are faint but both distinct. Sarah is working hard on a Mama but the smiles she gives her father are all "tata" at the moment.
