Talking With Nana...

My Mom said she had a guest post for today...one that shows Cade and Nana's "secret" language.

Enjoy!

At one point, Caden’s pediatrician was concerned that Caden did not have enough words in his vocabulary for his age. Caden went for hearing and speech evaluation and was found to be on target after all. It is amazing to me how children acquire language and are able to communicate their needs and wants. Here is a sample of how Caden has trained ME to know what he wants me to do:

Caden says: “Ta-da!” translation: “Nana, would you please play in the sandbox with
me? Fill a cup with moist sand and turn the cup over
and say, ‘ta-da’ when you reveal the sand cake.

Caden says: “No Timber!” translation: “Nana, would you please stay by me and
help me guard against Timber eating my snack right
out of my hand?”

Caden says: “Munch? Puppies?” translation: “Nana, would you and Granddad please
take me to the mall for lunch? When we are finished
eating, can we please go look at all the puppies in
the pet shop?

Caden says: “Clap? Clap?” translation: “Nana, would you please put the music CD in
the player in the car? I would like to listen to the
one that starts with the song ‘If you’re happy and
you know it CLAP your hands?’”

Caden says: “Stay!” translation: “Nana would you please play the game in the pool that
we invented that I call stay? You place me on the top
step and tell me. ‘Stay, Caden’ Then when you turn
your back I giggle and swim off the step. And we
have to do it over and over!”

Caden says: “Baby!” translation: “Nana would you please play the game we invented
Where I hand you an old bib I used to wear. Then you
put it on me. I take it off and throw it down and run
away. You chase me and catch me and put the bib
back on. And we have to do it over and over.


There are many more examples of one or two word phrases that convey so much meaning. As Caden makes sense of his world, the repetition is important to him to get his message across. He is a pleasure to be with.