Maybe There is a Translation App

What dat? 

This is the question asked by our 20 month old son numerous times on any given day. That question comes with a point from his little hand in the direction of something that has probably always been there; but now comes with a specific sound attached. This ritual happens over, and over again when the garage door opens and the choice of objects expands from his back seat view of the world. He points at everything no matter if he already knows what it is. In those instances he greets it by name, "Hello bus. Hello car, beep beep." If it is a short word like tree or church, it is repeated sweetly in his little man voice. More complex words like fire engine and ambulance are adorably mangled beyond comprehension. I commend him on his attempts at saying such big words. 

When he wants something we try to teach him the words for those things to help him expand his vocabulary. We do this in hopes of ending the grunting and pointing that he did when he was younger. He can't do better if he doesn't know better, and that requires us slowing our pace and being patient. Having him repeat the name of the object he wants and following it with "please" takes time but we know in the end it will be worth it.  

However a new challenge has arisen from this new-found verbal prowess - the ability to actually know what he is saying. Oh sure, mama and dada were easy. Even his twist on "bear" which comes out be-ah, is recognizable. Other words took a little longer to learn. Saucey is sorry, shish is fish, boom is broom. The problem comes when he says a word for the first time. We know it means something because he keeps repeating it. The baby accent is a hard one to figure out. As our faces get more and more twisted in confusion, he loses all hope of us ever understanding and breaks down into tears.  

The newest word to create such a scene was poon. "Poon, poon, poon", he said over and over while staring at his dinner plate. Why wouldn't the boy eat his meatballs, broccoli and apple slices? He had milk and if he wanted water he would say it. Well he would say wah-tee. What in the world is poon??

Cue the waterworks.

Then it dawns on me... SPOON! I grab a green baby spoon from the kitchen counter and hand it to him. The crying stops and he says it one more time with satisfaction, "Poon!" Then he looks to the two of us with an irritated expression as if to say, "I said poon. What took you so long?" He began piling pieces of food onto the utensil and gobbling his food down. 

In this process, while we are forgiving and nurturing with teaching him new words; we ask for the impossible and need for him to be the same with how long it takes for us to understand him.

Patience little one...I'm sure there is an app for this translation thing. I just need to find it.