Words

Sometimes Sam's vocabulary is so out of the norm, it is hard to know what she is saying. For example, how is Jim to know that Sam is speaking Swahili and not some made up language? Sam made a story, and Jim wrote the words for her. He wrote "toto" and "La Salaam" Sam was saying "Jambo Watoto" for "hello children" and "la la Salaama" for peaceful goodnight. These are phrases from "Jambo Watoto", one of her favorite books. It's about baby cheetahs, and every few days Sam will insist that she is a cheetah, and she is our watoto. On these days Matt is "daddy duma" and Amy is "mama duma" to her.

Then Sam got me. She said her favorite word was 'Tussock.' Huh? I wasn't sure I heard her, so she repeated it a few times for me. Then I said it was a very good made up word, and she said yes, she liked it with grass. Ahah! The light bulb goes off in my head. She means a tussock of grass, a little mound of tall grass. I must have said that to her last year, and she just pops out with it now. Well, how was I to expect that out of a three year old with no context? I knew just how Jim felt then. How was he to know Sam knew a few words of Swahili?

I was disapointed with Sam yesterday when she wouldn't let Amanda, our 15 month old friend, have Sam's broken necklace. I tried and tried to get her to agree to give it away, especially when Amanda had loaned her a beautiful doll for so many months. Sam steadfastedly refused. I told Daddy about this at night, and he asked her why she hadn't given it to Amanda. "I was afraid she would chew on it and it would go down her throat" was her reply. Well, Sam was right, it is a choking hazard for a small child. Guess she was one up on both mommies that day.