Language Learning Laughter

Today I told the boys we were going to run some errands in our bike. This means they are getting loaded into the bike trailer, and I am going to try and bike them around Base. (You really notice the slightest inclines with two "thirty pounders" pulling behind you.) We needed to stop and get another form for our condo sale notarized (the lady missed one of the papers yesterday) as well as go to the Fitness Center, see Daddy (just for fun and to bring him the paintings we finger painted for him this morning), check our mail (four packages!), and get some groceries (which was cut short when me allowing them to both push their own kiddy baskets got way beyond patience level.)

Anyways, throughout the entire errand-running adventure, Isaac kept waiting to see what we were going to buy. "Mommy, we are going to go buy some errands, right?" he would ask whenever we got back into the bike trailer. I tried to explain the difference between running errands and buying errands, but he wasn't getting it. I finally gave up.

Another fun language item comes from the chubbier of the two boys. (Side note: people around Base keep telling me they can't remember which one is Isaac and which one is Elijah. Someone told me that they remember because the letter E is chubbier than the letter I. That works. I'm sharing it with people who need a bit of a reminder.)

Anyways ... Elijah's infamous "ya!" when he wants to answer in the affirmative is now becoming a "yesssss" with the ending quite pronounced. (Similar to how he says "Buzzzzz" as in Buzz Lightyear.) Being as I am currently learning a new language, I can understand how difficult even the simplest sound can be and how easily you can get it mixed up. An example: when he first started saying "yessssss" he would say "sssss, ya!"

Speaking of learning to speak another lanugage, Isaac is now counting to ten in English and Turkish! Turkish counting can still require a little help geting between 4 and 6, but I amazed at how quickly kids learn things. I did not work with the boys on this directly. I just made a point when we were reading books and counting things to follow a count to 10 in English with one in Turkish. (More for my own practice than their learning it.) Even Elijah is saying the number 3, 5, and 10 in Turkish. How fun!