Nabootsen!

Oh, the wonderful things one can learn from Google Translate!

Nabootsen: Dutch for “mimic”

Iris is quickly becoming a little copycat. Mimicking noises and “words” is an essential part of learning to speak, and it’s an absolutely adorable advancement.

Our wee one is currently performing squeals, lip smacking, smiles and the somewhat complex sounds like “baba” and “papa” (though she has no idea she’s referring to her father, and is often met with “mamamamama” from myself).

My favorite thing of late is the beginnings of clapping. She tends to slap her right fist with her left palm, and is thrilled when we cheer and clap back at her.

She also appears to be imitating our habits of standing unassisted, as we’ve found her using the rails of her crib to achieve a fully vertical position.

I’ll tell you, that was an interesting feeling of both elation and horror. She quickly lost balance and thumped down on the mattress. No damage done, but now she’s on a mission. I have the feeling there’s a bumped and bruised chin in our near future.

All of this reminds me that one day she’ll be modeling many of our habits – from healthy eating (please) to artfully blue language (oh dear). I think it’s easier having her as my own personal fan club, but I realize she’ll soon turn impersonator.

Let the games begin.

P.S. Pictured above is Halloweenie Gypsy Baby. I’ve never seen someone pull off a napkin head scarf with such class.

P.P.S. Today would have been my father’s 67th birthday, which means he’s been gone almost 17 years. I think he would have enjoyed our Nabootsening Gypsy.