Jasmin is beginning to talk. If we were not sure at the
beginning if she is getting it (the idea of verbal communication) by now it is
clear and she has established her first word too! Jasmin continues to ape the
world that surrounds her and learns at astounding speed. And the more she knows, the more opinionated she
becomes.
Jasmin’s first clear sound was mumumum. I was not sure if
she meant mommy or mmmm…delicious. Or maybe
the combination of “mommy feed me mmm delicious food”. Jasmin eats well! She eats
everything! Aparticular joy to her grandfather… The second sound she repeated
was “TSE”. I thought it was a mimic of the words “Et Ze” which mean THIS in
Hebrew, but I must admit I am not sure. By the time Jasmin made her third clear
sound, I was sure. She says “Hoppa”. She uses this sound like her kindergarten
teachers to representan action (like jumping or falling on her but) or
satisfaction. She also clearly laughs (her bigger brother often makes her
laugh, and she likes a good swing in the park too). As her fourth sound she
combines a clear “LO” (the Hebrew word for NO) with a shake of the head or a
lifting of her shoulder. There is no mistaking the meaning. So “no” counts as
her first word (it was her big brother’s second).
Her second word is “ATSCHEEE” which is a mimic for a
sneezing sound. All Israeli kids know the song about the b8unny who forgot to
close the door and got a cold and started sneezing… la la la APCHI!, la la la
APCHI! Jasmin loves this song and asks for me to sing it by saying “ATSCHEEE”.
Her elder brother Jonathan also did this. In fact they reversed the order of
the words. Jonathan said Apchi first and LO later, Jasmin said LO first and
ATSCHEE as a second word. Or maybe it was her third when one counts her
amazement sound of “WOW!” as a word. One
day she was looking at magazines sitting next to granny and when a colorful
image of fans came up she exclaimed “WOW” and showed my mother the page. Jasmin
loves to read! She carried books and magazines with her and turns the pages. Scribbling
with a pencil (than k God)in the books is another favorite pastime. My mother
has claimed before that Jasmin can say “AF” (nose in Hebrew), I first saw it
last weekend when instead of the usual sneeze in the song, Jasmin pointed to
her nose and said “AF! So we have four words until now.
Her fifth word is ABA! The Hebrew word for daddy. She is
calling for my husband when he is no home. Jasmin is clearly a daddy’s girl. She
likes to take part in all activities, so today; when dad and Jonathan were
cooking together she joined them in the kitchen. When I took her away to bed,
she clearly combines “LO mama”, telling me she did not wish to go away with me
(does mama count as her sixth word?).
Jasmin is definitely getting
more opinionated. The “music” of her babbling tells me when she is not happy.
In German there is a sating “the tone makes the music”, meaning that the music
behind our conversation transports the true meaning of our words. Recently she
started biting me (picked it up in kindergarten probably), and got scolded
heavily for it, so now clever little bugger that she is, she starts to bring
her mouth closer to my shoulder, but closes it at the last minute. This is a
great example of the fast learning Jasmin can do! Such intelligence! Ah, I am enjoying
a “proud mom” moment as I write these lines (despite the fact that my daughter
did bite me a few times).
Jasmin’s verbal speech development is not impairing her
other learning. She continues to mimic the world t an astounding pace. Last weekend
we had friend come to visit from Germany and they wanted to go to the beach. In
preparation they put on tan lotion. Jasmin immediately began to “crème” her own
legs after the fashion of our guests. She likes to stand on Jonathan’s high
stool in the bathroom and brush her teeth. She is no longer satisfied with her
own baby tooth brush but prefers that of Jonathan (or second best, mommy’s toothbrush)
–I can only assume the small remains of toothpaste (which she can probably
taste on the brushes) are the root of this preference (because usually she is
very possessive of her own stuff). She shoves the brush into her mouth and mimics
the brushing motion. I showed her only once how to brush her front teeth and
that’s it! She was brushing correctly! She even imitates a spitting sound to
represent washing her mouth (sadly she still spits after if it’s from a cup, so
we cannot truly start her on properly brushing her teeth).
Jasmin also tries to put on her own shoes. She can open the Velcro
that holds the shoes and her motoric actions are on a continuous improvement, I
am sure she will soon be truly able to put them on! If she sees me take up my
bag or keys, she knows I am about to leave and she runs for the door. Jasmin
brings her shoes to me every morning of her own accord; she knows that part of
getting ready in the morning means to put them on. On Saturdays she can bring
her shoes to me as a sign that she wants to go out (despite the Israeli summer
heat, which is already upon us!) just like dogs bring their owners their leash
(dog lovers will claim dog psychology is very like that of a child, and that
canines are as much a part of the family). Just the other week, Jasmin saw her
cousin watering the plants in grandma’s home. So she ran to the storage room
and got her own watering pot (empty) and started to follow her cousin and “water”
the plants as well. A week later, the first thing she did when arriving at grandmas
was to go get the watering pot and “water” the plats once more.
By now she is tall enough to reach items on our dining
table, climb grown up chairs; she can even open the front door of the house!
She can blow soap bubbles, blow to cool her food and make a blowing sound with
her mouth when mimicking the action of blowing her nose. I was doing some
breathing exercises with Jonathan to help him calm down and Jasmin immediately
joined with some breathing of her own. She blows me a kiss to say goodbye when
I take her to kindergarten in the morning and kisses daddy on the lips when
encouraged. Exploring her own naval and mommy’s is her first curious “lets
research my body” activity, right there with trying to clean herself with a wet
wipe when I change her diaper. In the bathtub today she clearly mimicked older
kids wiping themselves after a visit to the toilet, and then washed her head
with her hands so proficiently that I began to think of purchasing a bathing
sponge for her to use.
At the advanced age of 1 years and five months it is clear
that Jasmin understands what is being said to her, and she will even do as she
is asked at times (bring me stuff when I ask). She likes to play catch with
mommy chasing her (she loves to hear me
stomping my feet, this knowing I am on her heels) and she likes to chase after
balls and then pick them up and throw them. Jasmin has even taken recently to kicking
a ball and running after her, her granddaddy (who has a history as a teenage football
player) will be mighty proud!
A fast driver, even her bodice says so, and has a suitable
baby car design to go along!
Moving on to more serious vehicles (she climbed on her own at Jonathan’s
kindergarten)
The bodice says “my grand-dad is crazy about me” and I do
believe they both are…
Swinging siblings!
Nothing like a good swing ride to while away a very hot
afternoon!
