Quotable Darius

Darius doesn't really have a lot of 'words' in the technical sense, but he definitely knows how to make himself understood. And the words he does use are only the most critical. The list includes:

~"Mamy" (as in, Amy) - every once in a while he will throw me a bone, and actually refer to me as "mama" but mostly, I am 'Mamy' which really perpetuates the feeling that I am on the world's longest nannying gig.
~"Taye" - I hope this is self-explanatory
~"No" - most often used when he is offered something, and is said while simultaneously reaching out to accept the offered item. It is also often used to answer questions asked of other people.
~"Ooh, ooh, ooh" - translates to fish crackers, or Goldfish. For those who don't know the story, we are fans of the Curious George show on PBS. In one episode, there are a group of characters who keep saying, "fish crackers, ooh, ooh, ooh!" Our family has adopted this phrase, but Darius prefers the abbreviated version. He will point to the cabinet frantically repeating, "ooh, ooh, ooh" when hungry.
~"Poop!" - again, self explanatory
~"Nnno!" - nose, usually said while grabbing mine in a death hold.
~"Mel-mo!" or "Mo" for short - I'll give you a clue, he is short, fuzzy, and red.

Darius has also developed codes for other important things he doesn't have words for yet. When he wants Cookie Monster (our hamster, not the friend of 'Mo') he will click his tongue. When he sees a puppy, he will pant. When he wants to brush his teeth (which is his new favorite game) he will stick his tongue between his teeth, and say "Lllll..." I have no idea where that one came from. One of my favorite things we have noticed is that he raises his voice when he is asking for something. He will babble on and on, (usually galugalugla? or just aah?) and always raise his voice on the last syllable, like we all do when asking a question. It blows me away.