One Month Vocabulary

I was asked today, "Who's learned more language, you or Maylin?"

I haven't counted, but I think I can generate more in Mandarin than she can in English. 

BUT it's taken me 5 years to accumulate my paltry sum while it's only taken her a month.

She will have me whooped...this week.

Jonathan and Matt learned 4 colors, left, right, foot, and hand. Maylin learned "hiney.".

Here is a quick list of the things we know we've heard her say (on her own) I wish I could post video of her speaking, because the looks on her face, and the tone of her quiet, breathy voice are 

such.

a.

hoot.

I can't catch it on video because as soon as the camera comes out, so does the "peace sign" and cheesy smile. She is sometimes silly, or thoughtful, or sassy as she begins to express herself in her new language.

Mama and Baba
Jaw-ah-sin
Jus-ten
Aa
Ah-wah-steni, which she will self-correct to Ahs-ten
Beh
Beth
Mattoo
Mayleen
Courrr-nee
Loo-tzi
wah-der, please
uh-puh, pweez (used most frequently when Loo-tzi is in the same room as Maylin)
hooome
no,no,no
the numbers 1-10
Mee-nuhs (minutes)
wuhn-too-free-go! (used most frequently in the pool, or when daddy is throwing her around)
If you read yesterday's post, you know she also says, 'men, at the end of prayers.

Do you need an *answer key* to her list of words? The first 12 are family names, and I think you can guess the rest.

Early in our bath time routines, I had pointed to her belly button and let her know that's how high I was going to let the water be. She now points to her belly button and tells me, "wah-der." After I let her play for a bit, I scrubbed her head and doused her. She stuck her index finger in the air and for the first time told me, "one minute." She wasn't quite done playing.

As I put her to bed, she almost climbed between the sheets, but turned to me with a question:

"Goo Baby?" (She was missing her brown doll and wanted to know where Baby was. She added the "good" part on her own.) Beth remembered when they had tucked Baby and all was well.

The only one that is adorable and gets under my skin at the same time is her ubiquitous, "Lessuh Go." I have resorted to google translate more than once to ask, "Where do you want to go? We don't have anywhere we need to go."  The Chinese coming from my computer speakers makes her lower her eyebrows and tighten lips. It gives me at least a 5 minute reprieve from "lessuh go."

Another Flower in our sometimes bumpy path this week was when Maylin spoke briefly with two friends from her orphanage who are now with their forever family in Ohio. After we spoke (the girls were a bit nervous, so we're going to try skype soon to see if that helps them with conversation) I got out the photo album that the director of her orphanage had given us. We had looked at it in Guangzhou, but I had avoided it since we got home. I didn't want to set either of us up for dealing with grief from her losses.

She l.o.v.e.d. it.

As we flipped from page to page, she chattered and even made fun of a couple of the kids who were digitally caught in less-than-optimum poses. I was so pleased for her to be able to share this with me without it seeming to put her into mourning. Such a bouquet!

In tonight's bedtime routine, I told her that we would 

(put one finger in air) "Brush our teeth, then" 

(two fingers in the air) "put on jammies. But," 

(shake head and then lay head on hands, to imitate sleeping) "no sleeping yet." 

She did her pouty face and said, "Fihe mee-nuhs." I smiled, made the sign for ten and said,

"You get ten minutes!" She did her pouty face and demanded, "Fihe mee-nuhs."

(Momma shrugged,) "Okay, five it is..."

Maylin won that one, didn't she?!

And one last tidbit...She loves her cousin, Meganne. 

Then again, who doesn't?!

We will not rub it in to the cousins that, although David got "first meeting," Meganne got a boatload of love and giggles.