I said "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich.
(From "Land Down Under" by Men at Work)
Hi everyone, Jay here again. Since my mom and dad are being so slack about posting here, I thought I'd help 'em out. I mean, seriously, one message in a week?! I'm always doing something adorable they could write about!
So, I thought I would explain to everyone what I'm doing to try and train my parents. "Try" is the key word here - they are a little slow in picking up on some of my hints. I know that I don't speak their English language yet, so I'm trying to communicate with them in MY language, known as baby-ese. It's so simple, and yet they just don't seem to be getting it.
Baby-ese is a combination language, using both sound and signs to get the message across. Here are some of the signs:
Wide open mouth = "Feed me"
Wide open mouth with head shaking = "Feed me now"
Lip smacking = "Feed me right now"
Fist into mouth = "I'm so hungry I'm going to eat my own arm"
(You can also combine all of those signs at the same time to mean "If you don't feed me right now, I'm going to eat my own arm, dammit!")
And here are some of the sounds:
Waaaaaa! = I have a wet diaper
Waaaaaaa! = I have a poopy diaper
Waaaaaaaa! = I'm bored
Waaaaaaaaa! = I'm cold
Waaaaaaaaaa! = I'm hot
Waaaaaaaaaaa! = I'm tired
Waaaaaaaaaaaa! = I'm hungry
Waaaaaaaaaaaaa! = Stop taking pictures of me. What are you, the paparazzi?
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa! = Let's go for a ride in the car
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! = No? How about taking me out in the stroller, then?
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! = Just a walk outside? Pretty please?
See? Baby-ese is so simple. If any of you can help my parents figure this out, our lives would be MUCH smoother.
Posted at 08:57AM Apr 10, 2008 by Jen Foster in General | Comments[5]
Ooo -- there was an Oprah show about this, you know. There is a video out there somewhere about the language of baby cries. It really was pretty fascinating.
Posted by Amy Galvan on April 10, 2008 at 10:00 PM EDT #
Wow, Jay is quite the prodigy. Most babies "coo" first, but Jay is already into typing and using the computer. Definitely a new generation. I love the postings from whoever writes them. :)
Posted by Great Aunt Ali-Sorry, I like the "Great" part on April 12, 2008 at 10:38 AM EDT #
Ok- I am on an emotional roller coaster, probably like you :)Last post I was crying and this one truly laughing. I never really got the "a mother understands her babies cries" thing either. Sorry to not be more help, but I do know how you feel!
Posted by Lisa on April 14, 2008 at 02:50 PM EDT #
Hey Jay! Kira here! Good luck getting these big people trained up well. I'm still working on mine too. Plus, our parents seem to be pretty slack about letting us hang out. I mean, come on now, last time they didn't even take a picture of our cute selves together. What can you do? Maybe they will learn. Drop me an email and maybe we can help them out a bit. :)
Posted by Kira Harrison on April 15, 2008 at 10:16 AM EDT #
Okay, Jay I'm sorry to tell you that we all went through this with our individually slow parents. They have degrees and everything and still don't get it; we can't really expect that much from them, can we? If they could get the timing of when to do things as you see fit, life would be much easier!!!! Hey, can you send me the picture of us since you are so computer savvy. In the meantime, I will pray for your mentally slow parents :)
Posted by Theresa on April 15, 2008 at 10:44 AM EDT #