Cuteness in words

Erin's vocabulary is still expanding by leaps and bounds - we thought she was moving fast months ago but lately she's been going crazy with the words, words, words!

Still, in her lovable 20-month way, she doesn't get all of them quite right but what she comes up with is, of course, adorable. Here are a few of my latest faves:

"olly-by" for lullaby
"pokee-doe" for polka dot (she LOVES polka dots, btw)
"peekey-boo" for peek-a-boo

Also, she requests a few songs thusly:

"more? star?" means Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
"'pider. more." means Itsy Bitsy Spider
"beep beep beep, car" means The Wheels on the Bus (as in "the horn on the bus goes beep beep beep."

Her latest crazes? Owls, Pat-a-cake (in a nursery rhyme book we checked out of the library), her Raggedy Ann doll (whom she calls "Katie"), pouring water into bowls and bottles in the bathtub, outside (going outside, noticing that pictures were taken outside, noting that Sadie has gone outside [to pee pee]), tacos. The latter is especially strong. When I ask Erin what she wants to eat, no matter the meal, she says "tacos!" exuberantly. Which actually works in Texas due to the breakfast taco craze. Her favorites? egg and cheese or bean and cheese.

She's also learned to correctly identify cold. She's known hot for a long time (and often accompanies it by pursing her lips and blowing - as in, blowing on hot food) but now she tells me that the diaper wipes are cold or that she is cold in the car. I know as time passes that she will be able to tell me her wants and desires, like and dislikes, and eventually moods. It's amazing to watch the transformation.

And speaking of emotions, she's a little caught up in "sad" and "cry" right now. In Mama Do You Love Me?, the mother says she will be sad if the little girl ran away and stayed with the wolves. Erin is intrigued. She says "Mama sad" over and over. And sometimes, when she perceives that something hasn't quite gone right, she asks "Mama sad?" or "Dada sad?". I cuddle her and assure her that I am not sad, but it makes me cautious about using that phrase too often, especially in a disciplinary way. She's also very keen about pointing out when others are crying and will even say "Erin cry" when she has been upset herself.

I can see the little empathetic wheels turning . . .