Ambercat

Every time I turn around, this kid is doing something else to make me crack up...

The latest: speaking in various "tongues." And no, I do not mean in a variety of recognized human languages. Sometimes she speaks in elephant. Or snake. Or dog. But usually it's cat... and if you call her a "cat" at this point, she will correct you and tell you that she is AMBERcat. Excuse us.

The only word in the language of cat, apparently, is "meow." And who would expect anything less? Generally, she'll substitute "meow" for "yes," though it could be used in place of any word--one meow per syllable, of course. So instead of thank you, she might say "Meow, meow," with the same inflection as the regular words. And of course, any song can be easily changed into a kitty ode, simply by replacing each syllable with "meow." You should hear "Jingle Bells" in cat.. it's quite lovely.

And sometimes she will act like a cat--fake grooming herself or lapping up milk, but generally she just walks around answering you in "cat" as if she was doing the most normal thing in the world.

I have never heard of anyone else's kid doing this... When I asked her speech therapist if she had been doing this--as she will only meow when I try to work with her at home--she thought I meant talking in a high-pitched voice, still using English words. She was quite a bit more taken aback when I said she actually MEOWS in place of words...

At least Amber recognizes that this is really silly and laughs at herself all the time. She also said she won't do it at school because she doesn't want to get "a time out." I'm just hoping that she has a great imagination and will grow up to be a highly creative individual... But for now I just know for sure that she is a super silly kid!