At 2yrs and 4 months old, Ivan is still not speaking in whole sentences. Others may think that he is slow in talking but to us, he is a very expressive boy. Hubby speaks to him in Swedish and I speaks to him in Mandarin. Here are some of the vocabularies/words which he uses very often throughout the day to express what he wants and what he thinks:
Swedish:
• pappa – (it sounds quite similar to Chinese too) = usually refers to daddy but when he gets lazy everybody is “pappa”…
• nej – (pronounced as “n-eh”) = no
• ”åh nej” and putting his small hands on the side of either his face or head = oh no, something “dramatic” has happened, usually heard after he dropped the lego which he has built and it fell into many pieces.
• tack - (pronounced as “ta-k”) = thanks
• titta / kolla – look / check this out
• chips – (pronounced as “ship”) = chips
• “mmmm…. mum mum (“Ivan-ese”), gott (Swedish, means good)”, follow by a rub or tap on his belly – food is good…
• så här! = like this!
• oppa meh – (should be “öppna åt mig”, pronounced as “erp-na” “ought” “may”, means open for me) can means anything which requires opening or take off of something, from opening any lids/ taking apart lego bits/ taking off his socks/ taking off his clothes…
• hej hej – (pronounced as hey hey) = hello hello or bye bye
• ta tu – (suppose to be Swedish “hej då”, pronounced as “hey dough”) = good bye
• mjölk mjölk (pronounced quite similarly as milk but with a soft “jue” after “m”) = milk milk, means anything that is drinkable.
• ah- good - (suppose to be “varsågod”, pronouced as “Va-shu-good”) = you’re welcome/ here you go
• en, två, fyra, åtta, tio (pronounced as “en” “t-voh” “fee-ra” “ottah (like the one we eat wih nasi lemak in Singapore – yum!) “tee-yo”) = 1,2 4,8,10… Ivan counting from 1 to 10 using short cut.
• kom (pronounced as “com”) = come
• så, så... = like this, like this…
Mandarin:
• 躺躺 (pronounced as “t-ang (as in Angola) t-ang ”) = lay down
• 抱抱 (pronounced as “baw” “baw”) = his smelly little pillow
• 没有 (pronounced as “may you”) = don’t have
• 举手(pronounced as “g - show”) = raise your hand and he usually expects to be tickled!
• 臭臭 (pronounced as “chi-oh chi-oh”) = smelly, refers usually to his diaper after he has pooped…
• 刷 (pronounced as “sh-wah”) = brush, refers usually to his teeth.
• 美美 (pronounced as “may may”) = pretty
• 下来 (pronounced as “see-ah” “la-I (as in the alphabet I)”) = come down
English:
• ma-mee/ah-bi (with pacifier in his mouth) = mummy
• sit (it’s pronounced the same both in Swedish and English and shares the same meaning)
• ha-oh = hello . Usually accompanied by a hand gesture that looks like he’s holding the phone to his ear followed by a blast of gibberish….”ah bu ku ba ka ba ka? pappa ba ka ba ka! hahahaha!” sounds like he’s gossiping with his friend about daddy…*shake head*
• hug = usually means he wants to hug or wants to be carried.
International Language:
• blaehhh yuck! = horrible!, can be used to describe food he doesn’t like, fish or mash potatoes, or anything dirty, socks, food stains on his clothes, “stuff” that he “found” from the inside of his nostrils…
• oh oh… = usually heard after he did something wrong (intentionally or unintentionally) and he knows I will be angry, like dropping a mug full of chocolate milk.
• ok (almost International language)
“Ivan-ese” (Ivan’s own language):
• Ang-ger = Angel
• ah-en = Jovan
• kisssssss = Chris
• ji ji = pacifier
• mum mum = food of any kind from fruits, bread, cookies, candies, etc…
• pang gu = Ping Gu the penguin
• wow wee = Rorri the racing car
• boom boom = means wheels or anything with wheels, cars, trains, bicycles…He always gets excited by boom boom!
Gestures:
• “siiiiiiiii….” followed by putting 1 finger on his lips = quiet
• “tsk! arghhhh…!” followed by placing his small fists on both side of his waist = frustration. Usually heard after he has being trying to get daddy’s attention for sometime but is still ignored…
• “hm, em!” followed by placing one of his fist somewhere near his mouth = trying to get someone’s attention, usually daddy’s.
• “Argghhh!” = frustration, usually heard after he has been trying something for sometime and it just won’t go his way, like putting on a tricky lego bit, getting the mattress to lean against the table…
• “hmmm…” followed by holding 1 finger on his chin and frowning a little = he’s thinking…
• “hu-ee!” followed by sweeping the top or the side of his head with his hand in a one-direction movement = Phew! I finally did it. Usually heard after he managed to do something which is tricky for him, like successfully putting on the lego bit after trying for the past 5 mins.
• “ta-da!” following by 1 open palm facing upward in the direction of whatever that he’s presenting, like stacking his wooden blocks really really high…
Ivan usually will combine these words and gestures together to communicate his intention. Typical conversation with him will be like this:
If daddy is working late and still not home by the time he’s tired and ready to go to bed:Ivan (with his sad puppy look): “Pappa, 没有.” (Daddy don’t have)
Mommy: “你先睡，爸爸做工。” (You can go to bed, daddy is working.)
If he wants us to put Chris down and go with him to the kitchen to fetch something:Ivan: “Kissss, sit sit.”
Mommy/Daddy: “Should I put Chris down to sit?”
Ivan: “Mm hmm.” (Nodding his head.)
(We put Chris down to sit in the car seat.)Ivan: “Kom” (holding onto one of our fingers)
Mommy/Daddy: “Should I follow you?/ Should I come?”
Ivan: “Mm hmm.” (Nodding his head.)
When he’s in the mood to crack a joke with us:Ivan: “Mamma/pappa, ah ba ka ba ka, gilli ba ka ba ka! hahahahaha!” (he laughs loudly)
Mommy/Daddy: “Yeah, that’s so funny!/Is that so?” (We laugh with him)
We are not stress out that he isn't talking properly yet, the nurses here are concerned that he'll get confused when he's being exposed to two languages, however back home in Singapore, all kids started with 2 languages since young, so to me this is perfectly normal. We believe that when he's ready, he'll start talking and once he starts, there's no stopping him!
Chris didn't look so enthusiastic about the walk though, but it was good for him to be out and get some fresh air and sunshine.
We stopped by the playground for awhile...
Ivan fell and for some reason, couldn't get up and needed daddy to rescue him.
Ivan was really happy to get out of the apartment.
"Look mommy,STICKS!" H was collecting sticks, branches, stones and leaves along the way...
