Conversations with Little Man

When he was just learning to talk, he would repeat the same few words over and over and over. He still does that. But now that he's confident that he can communicate with us, sometimes he'll tell us a story and I'm sure to him he's speaking in perfect English, but we can't quite get it.

The other day in the car:
Little Man: What happened Mikakat?
Me: What? Motorcycle?
LM: What happened Mikakat?
Me: I can't understand you. A cat? Michael's cat? A cat on a motorcycle?
T.: He's talking about a truck.
LM: Mikakat. Meow.

Thank goodness he translated himself, 'cause we never would have gotten there. I still don't know how Michael or a motorcycle fit in, but at least we got the "cat" part.

I'm trying to teach him how to answer the questions that are commonly asked of 2-year-olds. We have some work left to do.
Lady at a store: What is your name?
Little Man (pointing to himself): Truck shirt.

Neighbor: What is your name?
Little Man (pointing to himself): Guitar shirt.

Anyone who asks: How old are you?
Little Man: Fine.

And while he's been a parrot or an echo for several months now, he's starting to comprehend a lot more. A lot of what he's comprehending isn't directed at him.

For example, on Sunday we stopped off the highway to get gas. It was a confusing exit and T. made a noise like "ARGH!" Little Man kept saying, "What's wrong, Daddy? What happened, Daddy?" until I calmed his nerves telling him we just couldn't find the gas station but everything was okay.

It's fun to see his logic, too. He collected a rock from near the fishpond this weekend. On Sunday he started to put it in his mouth and I told him not to because it's dirty. He said, "Wash it, Mommy?"

And his sense of humor is every bit as sophisticated as a 2-year-old boy's should be.
T., eating a cookie: Daddy coooookie.
Little Man (misunderstanding): Hee hee, Daddy pooooopie. Daddy poopie. Hee hee.