Kate: Children talking. Was: Re: Could you please tell the Santa for

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Hi Kate,Yes, both Pixie and Mikko are relatively early with their language, but perhaps in slightly different ways. Pixie has been communicating since she was a baby, not verbally at first, of course, but she had her own sign language from really early on. I remember especially two incidents from the summer when she was a baby, first of all when we arrived at the summer house her mother rents every summer, and I was keeping watch over Pixie who was playing at a blanket on the floor, while her mother was doing something in the kitchen. I was talking about this and that (whatever you talk about to a baby...), and then I said "I wonder how far away the beach is." Then Pixie started doing something funny with her arms, I called for a asking what she was doing and why (hadn't seen a baby do that thing before). a came into the room, looked at Pixie and asked me "Did you ask a question?" I said that I suppose I may have (not that I meant the thing about the beach as a question for the baby on the floor to answer...), she then said; "In that case, it means 'I don't know'. It's her interpretation of a shrug"And later that summer my dad, Pixie's granddad, was visiting the summer house and stayed for dinner. Before dinner he and I played with a plastic ball with Pixie, rolling it to her and things like that. But we soon noticed that what she liked best was to watch as we threw the ball. Dad picked up the ball and threw it as far up in the air as he could, and Pixie laughed hysterically. Later, at the dinner table, Pixie suddenly looked at me, then pointed at dad, then made a throwing movement with her arms and hands, followed by a gesture that seemed to me as if she was imitating looking for something far up in the sky, and then she looked at me again and laughed. Sort of a sign language version of saying "Do you remember how granddad threw the ball high, high up in the air, that was really funny!" I was fascinated to see a baby doing dinner table conversation, if only with a sort of sign language. She did start talking with words, and sentences, real early too. Even if she was a bit hard to understand in the beginning (that's why we developed the habit of talking in video chats rather than on the phone with her, because if you could see her and not only hear her, she was easier to understand).Now, Pixie's mother is one that simply never stops talking, and she is famous for being on phone a lot too, she has a poster her friends made for her for one of her birthdays, with a phone and the text "With her, it's not a thing, it's a natural part of her body" Or something like that. I suppose Pixie is inheriting that interest and skill...Mikko on the other hand said absolutely nothing, until he one day started talking with full sentences. Like he didn't want to try it until he mastered it, or something like that. He may be closer to 2,5 years old, though, I don't know exactly when his birthday is. Mikko's mother tells us that he talks on his toy phone a lot, "calling" a lot of people he knows (pretending to call, that is, it's a toy not a real phone). He usually "calls" his grandparents when he feels his parents are being unfair, to tell them all about it. And, apparently he "calls" us from time to time to ask if he can come visit... That sort of call might work better on a real phone though...But Milla, Mikko's older sister, was relatively late with talking, as was/is Pixie's 6 months younger cousin. I guess kids are just different with these things, as with most others. If grownups have different skills and areas of interest, why shouldn't kids? 's parents have a photo of in her Santa outfit, but we don't unfortunately.love/Reb> >  > > > 's 2 year old> nephew, Mikko, was showing a real humble attitude about> the Christmas gifts this year. > > > > In Sweden> Christmas gifts are opened during the afternoon or> evening of Christmas Eve, usually after that gigantic> Christmas smorgasbord, in fact Christmas Eve is when> Christmas is celebrated in Sweden, Christmas Day is more> like the day after Christmas. And the Santa* is not> coming down the chimney during the night, but is let in> through the door and is delivering the presents directly> (usually one of the adults in the family is dressed up> as Santa/tomte, or someone in the neighborhood, this> year it was who was Santa). Or at least handing> them out, they'll be placed under the Christmas tree> before that. > > > > Anyway. During> the day Mikko's father was teasing him (jokingly): "What> if I take all the gifts myself! Then there'll be nothing> left for you!" Mikko just calmly replied: "There are so> many gifts under the tree, there is plenty for everyone.> In fact, if everyone take all the gifts they want,> there'll still be gifts left for me."> > > > And then during> the Santa visit, when perhaps a third of the presents> had been handed out, Mikko said: "Could you please tell> the Santa for me that he has given me enough gifts now,> he should take the rest of my gifts with him and give to> some other children"> > > > Now, that's a> boy with not much greed in him...> > > > love> /Reb> > > > * in Swedish:> tomte, which is not really the same as Santa Claus, see:> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomte I'll call the tomte> Santa in English though. >

[Guest guest]

since I got a wireless broadband card this month I have to wait until February to get my granddaughter a tee shirt I saw

 

hot pink with white letters

 

the words are from  Shakespeares Midsummers Nights Dream

 

Though she be tiny - she is fierce.

 

sounds like pixie

 

my son isn't speaking to me right now - he thinks I am being stubborn not being able to say my granddaughters first name - fancy smancy I can't get my mouth around - Abby I can

 

the picture was taken last February and she was 3 in December

 

 

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