Bah-Poh and Cha-Chu: Making Sense of Mimi-Speak

Our morning routine deviates little. 

Mimi wakes, gurgles or yells, and then helps me pick up any discarded clothing and blankets she'd chucked over the side of her crib.  Then it's arms up, a lift out of the crib, a kiss from Papa, a kiss for Papa, and a clumsy, still-sleepy sprint into the living room.  Upon arrival, Mimi then calls out "Bah-poh!"

This, in Mimi-speak, means "diaper."  I still have no idea why.  Most of Mimi's words bear a vague resemblance to the genuine article, but "bah-poh," which was one of her first words, I just can't figure out.  When she first said it, I thought it might be babble, but she stuck with it.  Amazingly, we both understand each other.  I still say diaper, she still says bah-poh.  It works.  I guess that's enough. 

So, when Mimi runs to the coffee table, where we keep her changing pad, and yells out "bah-poh," I know just what to do. 

She knows, too.  On some days she'll even lay out the changing pad and supply her own "bah-poh." 

After the diaper change, I'll often bring up iTunes for a brief bit of distraction (usually music) as I prepare our breakfast.  Mimi knows that this may result in a chance for some "cha-chu."  That's "Thomas the Tank Engine" to you and me. 

As I've shared previously, Mimi loves Thomas.  She's still devoted to him.  She just can't say his name that well.  Still, it's closer than bah-poh.  With "cha-chu," Mimi seems to at least recognize the "ah" sound at the beginning of Thomas and the "uhs" sound at the end of it.  It's not perfect, but I do think it shows that her ear is developing.  Like "bah-poh," "cha-chu" has remained constant.  It seems to be a word Mimi has really locked in. 

She's learning new words every day and with each one her pronunciation seems to be a bit better.  Consonants at the ends of words are still a bit tricky, but sometimes she's able to nail them.  Just this morning, after taking a bag from her head, she repeated after me, "Baaahuuuuhhh"  (I'd said "bag," just in case you were wondering). 

She doesn't have the /g/ sound at the end just yet, but what she said wasn't just "bah" either.  She knows there's something that for the word to be right, another sound needs to go at the end.  It's only been in the last few weeks that Mimi's discovered this. 

Mimi's speaking vocabulary waxes and wanes depending on the day, the hour, her concentration, and her mood.  Here's a survey of what she has now, at a little less than 19 months old.  I'm sure I'm missing some, but these are the most prevalent.  The words on the left are what Mimi says.  Some of them will be Japanese.  The words on the right are the English equivalent. 

1. Mama:  Mom
2. Papa:  Dad
3. Bah-poh:  Diaper
4. Cha-chu:  Thomas the Tank Engine
5. Bah-bi:  Potty
6. Bi:  Bib / beep sound for pressing buttons
7. Joosh:  Juice
8. Shuz:  Shoes
9. Nah-ooo:  No
10. Gah-ooo:  Go
11. Bah-boh:  Milk bottle, juice bottle, anything that holds liquid
12. Ah-Fee!:  "Gone Fishing," from her favorite Thomas song
13. Te:  Hands
14. Ah-sh:  Legs
15. Mimi:  Mimi
16. Bah-uh:  Ball

Her listening vocabulary is really growing.  For instance, a few weeks ago she knew hair, eyes, and nose in Japanese (kami, meh, and hana).  Now, she knows hair, eyes, nose, lips, teeth, hands, stomach, legs, sweater, and pants.  She also knows "ears," but in Japanese, this posed a problem.  "Ears" in Japanese is "mimi," which caused our little girl all kinds of confusion.  We'll be keeping that word in English for the time being.

She's also beginning to understand more complex phrases and commands.  If I say, "Where's Mimi's hair?" she'll point to her own.  I can then change it up to "Where are Papa's eyes?" and she'll point to my eyes.  On the street I often ask her to find her car.  She'll tear down the sidewalk passing up multiple cars, even white ones, until she comes to our little white wagon.

Yesterday I think Mimi took a big step forward.  We were getting ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I wanted Mimi to wear her cute white sweater, which was hanging on her chair.  In the kitchen I asked her, "Mimi, go get your white sweater."  Her first response was a blank, "Huh?"  But after a few repetitions, she ran into the living room and came back with a sweater.  And it was the right one! 

It might have been dumb luck, but the look on Mimi's face told me different.  She ran into the kitchen excited, knowing she'd understood.  Knowing she'd figured out Papa's code.  My reaction, of course, made her even happier, but you could see in that little face that she recognized she'd cracked something new.  These are the moments with Mimi I truly treasure.  Watching her make connections and seeing the world grow before her eyes.  It doesn't get much better.