daabi daabi shataba

I thought I recognised every word that Nidhi utters until she threw up, "shola agade". It appeared to be some nursery rhyme since she sang it along to a tune, but try as hard as possible, I could not identify it. I kept telling Rohan I know everything she utters but for the life of me I dont know what this is. And he kept saying it might be some gibberish that means nothing. To vex me further she added another rhyme to this - "daabi daabi shataba". And I worried that one day she would just stop saying them and I would never know what they meant :-(

But I neednt have despaired. A couple of weeks ago "shola agade" was revealed as "Solomon Grundy" when she sang (or at least attempted) the rest of the rhyme. How thrilled was I when a few days later Humpty Dumpty revealed itself similarly :-) I am now a content mom.

Nidhi is now almost attempting sentences. She makes new combinations of words that she hasnt heard from me before which helps communicate her thoughts and interpretation of things she sees. This is such a major milestone towards self-expression. So far, her communication was limited to labeling objects and events - daddy's slippers or daddy bathroom, for example.

Last week I got new books for her from the library and at her insistence picked up a Noddy book of patterns. The first page showed Noddy in bed and she said instantly -"Noddy sleeping". Today at church when Mary took baby Emma in for a nappy change, Nidhi on noticing them not around said - "Emma gone"!!