With two kids, I naturally measure Ella’s development against Cal’s at the same age to assess her progress. The younger of the two, Ella seems to have hit major milestones at around the same age as Cal did – rolled over at 3 or 4 months, pulled herself up at 9 months, walked at 1 and got her teeth late (Ella was 13 months before her first tooth popped through!) I don’t know if this is to be expected or just dumb luck – thus far, they’ve been pretty much the same kid.
This is not to say that I have expectations for Ella that she match or exceed Cal's developmental progress. I certainly do not. Cal's development is just what I know.
I’d have to consult Cal’s baby book to know for sure, but if memory serves me right, he was saying a lot of words at 15 months and by 18 months was talking clearly in full sentences. By 18 months, he knew his shapes really well, his favorite being the triangle – Cal would see triangles in “nature” (e.g. the roof of a house, etched in a tree, a random structure at a zoo) and point them out to us. "Look at the triangle!" he'd exclaim as we were walking down the street, which introduced a potentially long search for the triangle that was surely there. Cal also knew his colors at 18 months, if not sooner.
Ella certainly talks as much as Cal did at her age; it’s just not as clear what she’s saying. Ask her to pronounce any word, and she’ll give it a good try, usually hitting the first and last syllables pretty well. For example, when I ask her if she can say “helicopter” (a tough, multi-syllabic word for a little one), she’ll respond “he-ca-er” (or something like that – it’s hard to say). I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know her shapes. If she does, she’s a pretty good faker. Pronouncing the shape words aside, if I ask her to point to the circle or the square on a page full of shapes, it’s anyone’s guess what shape she’ll actually point to on the page.
Over the weekend, I played a lot of “what color is this?” with Ella, an entertaining game from which I repeatedly walked away laughing and wondering if our little Ella might be color blind. Everything is orange, or “ordage,” as Ella puts it. “What color is your shirt, Ya Ya?” I might ask, to which she quickly responds, “ordage” whether it actually is orange or not. The fact that she always answers "ordage" always cracks me up.
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| Green and Orange pages from the Sesame Street Colors book |
We have a Sesame Street characters book of colors. One of those soft, “bubble” books suitable for bath time, each page is dedicated to a color and has three items of that color on it. One item is a Sesame Street character (e.g. Elmo) and the other two items are familiar foods or animals. Over the weekend, we spent a bit of time on this book, where Ella held the book and I asked her what color things were as she turned the pages.
On the Elmo page:
Me: “Who is that, Ya Ya?” <I still can't help myself and call her Ya Ya.>
Ella: “Elmo!”
Me: “That’s right, and what color is Elmo?”
Ella: “Ordage!”
Me: “No, Baby Girl, Elmo is red. Can you say ‘red?’”
Ella: “Ret.”
On the Zoe page:
Me: “Who is that, Ya Ya?”
Ella: “Zoe!”
Me: “That’s right, and what color is Zoe?”
Ella: “Ordage!”
Me: “That’s right! Or-ange! Can you point to the pumpkin?”
Ella: <points to the pumpkin – she knows that shape!>
Me: “That’s right! What color is the pumpkin?”
Ella: “Ordage!”
Me: “That’s right!”
On the Grover page:
Me: “Who is that, Ya Ya?”
Ella: “Coo-kee.”
Me: “No, you know, that’s Grover. He does look like Cookie Monster. What color is Grover?”
Ella: “Ordage!”
Me: “Blue… Grover is blue. Can you say ‘blue?’”
Ella: “Boo.”
One time she incorrectly said something was “red” and another time said something was “por-pul,” so I know she knows there are other colors. At least, I think she knows they're colors. Sometimes I think she’s playing with me, feeding off of my obvious amusement with her “ordage” answers. Perhaps she really does know her colors and will only let on that she does when my amusement evolves into concern. Until then, I’m chalking up this “ordage” thing to simple entertainment for the Leathermans -- at least, for this Leatherman it is.
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