Watch what you s-a-y.

Mia is the first child that I've been around consistently while she is learning how to talk. You really have to be careful about what you say, and especially around Mia. I may be biased...I mean, I know everybody thinks that their child is the smartest child on earth, but they're wrong, Mia is.

At first, we were able to get away with just spelling a word here or there.

"If it doesn't rain, you can take her to p-o-o-l."
"There's i-c-e c-r-e-a-m in the freezer if she finishes her dinner."
"There are stickers in the kitchen if she p-o-o-p-s."

But before long, she could understand what we were saying anyway, so our conversations started to sound more like this:

"If it doesn't r-a-i-n today, you can t-a-k-e her t-o the p-o-o-l."
"Do you want us to e-a-t l-u-n-c-h there?"
"Sure, if she b-e-h-a-v-e-s, but she hasn't p-o-o-p-e-d t-o-d-a-y, so don't let her h-a-v-e d-e-s-s-e-r-t unless she g-o-e-s."
"...o-k-a-y."

I think it would probably be easier if we both just learned Japanese. I'm just waiting for the day when Mia looks at us and says, "I know what you're s-a-y-i-n-g."

Aside from spelling, I've also come up with creative ways to cover accidentally using words she probably shouldn't repeat..."no, not 'sucks' Mia, 'socks'..."

What is it that makes a child pick out the one word you don't want them to repeat and immediately say it?

I can just imagine Mia in highschool...

"Man, this socks..."
"What the help?"
or "Ship, I forgot my homework!"

Mia's newest thing is asking, "what's funny?" every time somebody laughs.
The other night at the dinner table she made one of those dead giveaway faces so I asked her, "Mia, do you need to go poo poo?"
She looked right at me, wrinkled up her little nose and said, "no, it's just a little gas."

Well, help yes I laughed...
So I get, "What's funny, Brooksie?" from this sweet little gassy baby.
How do you get out of that one?

I just told her she was just the cutest little girl in the world and that I loved her. Apparently spelling and foreign languages aren't always the most effective nannying tools.

But if anyone knows a good Japanese tutor, let me know.