A month in, even spending every day all day with me, he is no closer to saying mama. I'm determined to remedy this, so the other day I was carrying him around in the Ergo as I made dinner, and I kept offering up, "Mama. Mama. Mama." To which he'd respond, "Dada! Dada! Dada!" This went on for about five minutes, and then I said, a little impatiently, "Mama!" He paused, like he was finally digesting the lesson, and I thought, "Here it is! He's actually going to say it!"
Again, I say, "Mama. Mama!"
He takes a deep breath and blurts out, "Papa!"
"Okay, joker," I think, "Go ahead and learn two names for Greg before learning even one for me. Hell, recite his social security number before you utter a single ma for all I care. I'm not going to take it personally." Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not going to keep trying.
Our lessons have continued, and so has this papa business. And here's what I've figured out: He's not spiting me by learning another name for Greg. He actually thinks I'm Papa! In fact, he calls me that with a fair level of consistency. And you know what? I answer. There are worse names, right? And surely it's a step up from anti (Amharic for, "Hey you!"—which is what he had been calling me and the dogs until Papa entered the vocabulary.)
What can I say? This little boy has got his papa wrapped.
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7 comments:
That is so sweet! I wonder how long he will call you that. You are right though, it is a vast improvement over "hey you"..
you guys are so cute together!
I'm laughing so hard. Carrie's little girl calls her "Daity"--and Carrie is a single mom! Go figure. I'm glad you all are doing well!
At least you have some kind of name. Titan was 2 before he ever referred to me at all, and he's grown up in an all-English environment!
He so cute, and we can't wait to see you guys again!
Vali
Hi, we brought Meheret home (age 2) at the end of May, and she does the same thing. We are both "dada". Sometimes she uses "mama" but that is also for both my husband and me. Go figure.
Karla
Too too cute-I can almost hear that interaction as you describe it. And you are indeed very cute together! Coffee soon... ~lmc
It's amazing how alike Sasha and Sidamo are. She calls everyone/everything "Mama" (except for my dad- she calls him "Papa!") She stands at the bottom of the stairs and yells, "Mom! Mom!"- not to get my mom's attention (sometimes she does this when she's not even up there) but because the boys and I must do it constantly. She sounds exactly like us, too. Be glad you don't have older kids to influence Sidamo- she tries to put on makeup every day! :-)
What a sweet picture! Listen, samething here at the beginning with Salome. She was and is a Daddy's girl.
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