what Ruby says

I've been writing down "What Ruby Says" in my Ruby journal. Lately I've been filling up one page a week. I don't know why I'm so interested in her language development, but I am, and lucky for me - she says fun new things every day!

From the minute she wakes up until the minute she goes to sleep, Ruby has words coming out of her mouth. This morning I went in to wake her up and the first thing she said to me was, "Daddy back soon." Jeff wasn't with me so she assumed that he had already gone to work. He was just out eating breakfast though, so she still got to see him off and request, "I want a hug" and "want a kiss." This is new as of the past week or so. She's not very huggy or kissy, but this week she has been asking for hugs when we say goodbye or goodnight, and occasionally asks for a kiss too. We are always showering her with hugs and kisses against her will, so it is a real treat for us that she actually wants us to. The other night she told me, "Mommy, no more kiss cheek." As you wish, Ruby.

NO is still one of her most frequently used words. Her favorite protest statement is "No WAY!" She uses this in all types of situations - when she only mildly doesn't want something and when she passionately doesn't want something. You can tell how much she doesn't want something by how loud and long she says it. Grammie put fruit snacks in a bowl and handed it to Ruby. Ruby said, "No way" and dumped them on the ground. In the morning when we want to take her pajamas off, it's more like, "NO WAAAAY!!!" accompanied by a mini tantrum. In any case, she's always adamant about not wanting whatever it is we are offering or requesting.

"No like ____" is another phrase we hear a lot of these days. Typically she isn't actually saying that she doesn't like something. When she says, "No like Monsters; watch Buzz" she means that she is done watching Monsters, Inc. and wants to watch Toy Story instead. When she says, "No like gloves," she proceeds to take them off her hands but she will probably put them back on in a minute because she LOVES her gloves. She DOES mean it when she says, "No like water; want JUICE!"

And then there's the bossy NO: "No pick nose Daddy," "No Daddy, sit down," "No turn lights off," "No push sleeves up," "No want it," and so on. Instead of fighting me on the pajama thing the other day she simply said, "Mommy, no touch jammies. Keep jammies on body." I still made her change her clothes, but I appreciated the vocal expression rather than a physical one.

At least some of her commands don't involve the word no: "Come here" [sounds like "Mere"], "Go down slide," "Hold it in hand," "Find scary monster part," "Turn lights on," "Hang up jacket," "Put it away," "Put back in closet," "Get different kind," "Daddy, go to work," "Go home," "Go Grammie's house," etc. One Saturday when I was still in bed and she came in to see me she grabbed my hand and said, "Mommy, out of bed please." She said please, but her voice was stern. It was not a request. But, how could I not comply when she was so polite?

What's even better than the occasional "please" is that not everything she says is a protest or command! She is learning to simply state her intentions and desires: "I wanna do it," "I wanna help," "I wanna get it," "I need this," "Ruby sleep in new bed," "Wash hands in bathroom," "Wanna watch it again," "Watch different part," "Want to go ocean," "Want to go zoo," "Wanna sleep more," "I want salad." We love knowing what she wants!

There are still times when we can't understand what she is saying. We listen and repeat what we think she is saying. If we get it wrong she'll say it again. It usually only takes us a few tries. When we finally guess right she gives us a positive response like, "Uh-HUH!" and "YAH!" as she smiles and nods her head. She acts like she is so proud of us for figuring it out.

Ruby likes to share her observations with us too. "I hear airplane," "I see moon shining," "I see birds outside." My favorite is when she says things like, "It's dark in there" and "It's cold out here." Ruby has picked up the word boring. I once told her that one of her books was boring. We have also told her a couple times that books without pictures are boring. Now, when she is looking through a book and can't find any pictures she closes the book and says, "It's boring in there!"

Ruby started saying, "Oh Daddy!" It is the sweetest sounding thing. She says it when she is close to him or hugs him, for no apparent reason other than to express her adoration. I'm pretty sure it melts his heart every time. The sweetest thing she has said to me is, "Love you, Mama." Jeff told her to say it, but hearing those sweet words on the other end of the phone made my day. I hope she will say that a lot more in her lifetime.