Slugs, Snails And Puppy Dog Tales: Look Who's Talking

Slugs, Snails And Puppy Dog Tales: Look Who's Talking

Perhaps it should come as no surprise to me, a mummy who never stops wittering on and has (ill-informed) opinions on everything from potty training to the Large Hadron Collider, that what my children lack in physical ability they more than make up for with linguistic skills.

While they might be the bottom shufflers in the sea of life when it comes to standing on their own two feet, when it comes to conversation they are little Einsteins. Max was chatting away like a 40-year-old barrister by the age of two, much to the shock of the adults who tried out baby talk on him, only to be met by fully formed, well thought out and lengthy responses.

Jacob was much the same, and it looks as if the twins are chips off the old block.

Every day a new word is added to their repertoire. I was very proud when Zach pointed up into the sky at a passing plane and said 'Ai-plane'. Of course he has only ever said this once, so I am glad Jacob was there as a witness so no one can dismiss this as the delusion of a doting mummy.

Jonah is no slouch in the speaking stakes either. He can belt out a fine version of 'Row, row, row, your boat', not a thing is dropped in our house without him saying 'Uh oh' in doom laden tones and his cute little 'bye byes' accompanied by a robotic hand wave are enough to have you turning around for one last cuddle before you take your leave.

My favourite baby word du jour though is Zach's rendition of 'Elloooooo'. Every time he hears a door go, his blonde head pops up and he almost sings out this multi syllable version of the greeting. I am frantically trying to video all these new words before they move on, perfect their pronunciation, and lose the clumsy cadences of baby talk.

Somehow listening to them mangle the English language is so much more endearing, than hearing it yelled across the house by their older brothers, so I want to capture this brief window of time when my children's incessant chatter is adorable, rather than annoying.

What were your favourite baby words? Have they remained family words?

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