decoding Charlotte

Babytalk is (relatively) easy. They don't say anything. Well, they cry when they are tired, hungry, have a full diaper, or... just feel like it ;-) That can be quite the guessing game. Other than that, they coo when they are excited, and they babble to start experimenting with sounds. So overall the range of verbal communication is fairly limited in babies' first year.

Toddlers? Well, they're another story entirely.

(Now 1 1/2 year old!) Charlotte is pretty busy exploring the world and her vocabulary has been 'exploding' correspondingly over the past weeks. We can figure out what she is saying most of the time. When choosing between German and English, she uses whatever word is easiest to pronounce. She has a tendency to drop the last syllable of words, so it's often just a matter of paying attention to the context/her gaze and guessing how the word would've ended.

Lately though, we've been perplexed by two words. One has now been decoded.

Bunga. Bunga. Bunga. Bunga. 

She says it with excitement, pleading even sometimes. She says it for objects. She says it for herself. She says it while seated. She says it while standing.

Bunga. Bunga. Bunga. Bunga. 

Any guesses? Didn't think so. It would have been next to impossible to figure out. Fortunately though, she learned it at daycare, so they know what she's saying. Balls go bunga. A slinky goes bunga. Even Charlottes can go bunga. One can ask to go bunga, or one may make themselves go bunga. Just about anything can be made to go bunga for that matter. Even water. Any closer? 

Boing!

It should have actually dawned on us: Busy bee Charlotte loves to be on the go, loves everything in motion, and loves to move things...So bouncing balls, watching jumpy Penny and going on bumpy (lap) horsy rides are a delight for her.  

Not surprisingly, Go! Go! Go! is another favorite word these days...