Do you speak Henrish?

Henry's speech continues to amaze me. I know that we all started out as babies who couldn't speak, and now we all talk and communicate and have extensive vocabularies. But, watching it happen is AMAZING to me. Every day Henry learns new words. I love it when he hears a word and then starts using it in the correct context.

Lately he's been memorizing his books, and then inserting the correct word when we read stories to him. He even requests books in the car while I'm driving. He'll say "moon" (Goodnight, Moon) or "Hoff" (Drummer Hoff) and then expect me to recite the book from memory while I'm driving. Of course, I always oblige. As I'm reciting the book and driving, he'll chime in with words that he knows. I'll say, "Goodnight cow jumping over the..." and he'll say, "MOON!" How fun is that?

Yesterday Jeff brought Henry to see me at work. School hasn't started yet, but I was getting my classroom ready, and we had an Open House for the kids to bring in their supplies and to meet their teachers. Jeff and Henry arrived just as many of my students were arriving. I told Henry to say "hi" to each person by name, and he did. "Hi, Payton...Hi, Ben...Hi, Karsen...Hi, Alexis..." Then as soon as he said hi, he'd say, "Bye-bye, Payton...Bye-bye, Ben..." etc. Everyone thought it was very cute. This morning, as I was driving Henry to daycare, he started reciting all of the names he'd learned yesterday. "Payton, Ben, Karsen, Alexis" etc. He remembered about 10 names! This kid has an amazing memory! Jeff and I love hearing Henry talk, and we especially love the special way that Henry pronounces some words. Here are a few of the fun Henrish pronunciations.

brollogee = broccoli

peesee = penis

nono = yogurt

seeyo = cereal

dai-poo = diaper

stawbeebee = strawberry

dubeebee = W

watoo = water

elvis = elephant

deeyo = armadillo

poose = octopus

eh! gooly-gooly-goo = cock-a-doodle-doo

cameemee = cream (Desitin)

icestome = ice cream

boody = birdy

Here's a funny story...Henry has been calling his penis a "peesee" for quite some time. Each time his diaper is changed, he says "peesee" and points to it. While reading this book about a monkey, Henry kept pointing to the baby monkey's tail and saying "peesee." I kept telling him that it was a tail, but he kept insisting that it was a "peesee." We debated this many times for many days.

Henry: (pointing to the tail) Peesee.

Me: No, that's a tail.

Henry: Peesee....

Me: Tail....

Henry: Peesee!

Me: (turning the page) O.K., whatever.

Then, the other day, he finally agreed with me and said "tail" while pointing to the monkey's tail. I was so happy that he finally got it. Afterwards, when I changed his diaper, he pointed to his penis and said, "TAIL!" Maybe he didn't get it.