Baby Talk

I was about 11 years old when my sister Mary (10 years younger than I) began to talk. With 6 older siblings, she had lots of new names to learn. Young children often have trouble pronouncing the letter "L", so I was used to my name sounding quite strange when spoken by beginner talkers. But Mary's version was the worst. She called me "Haddah"... or something like that. The most annoying thing about it was that this nickname stuck. More than twenty years later my brothers will still sometimes call me that dreaded name. It never seemed cute to me at the time... (although in hindsight it is pretty funny), and I was so relieved when Mary finally learned to pronounce it correctly.

So when Amy began talking two years ago, I could fully understand then-2-year-old Beth's frustration with her new name. "Da" was the best Amy could do, and Beth was furious.

"I'm not 'Da', and I'm never going to be 'Da'!" she would say to Amy. It didn't help matters when Dan and I would, without thinking, encourage Amy's baby talk.

"Go give this to Da", we'd say to Amy, infuriating Beth to no end. Beth was thrilled when Amy finally learned to say "Beth". We still joke about it sometimes, and even manage to get a chuckle out of Elizabeth once in a while.

Now Erin is entering the world of baby talk. She waves her little hand and says "Ba ba". She makes new and very interesting sounds every day, and we're busy trying to decipher the questionable noises coming from her mouth.

Tonight at the dinner table I decided to test her skills. "Can you say 'Amy'?" I asked Erin.

Blank stare.

"Erin, can you say 'Mama'?"

Another blank stare.

"Erin, can you say 'Beth'?"

Her little mouth started working, and she quickly turned to look at Beth. We sat watching as she proudly burst out with her new word.

"Da"! she yelled. "Da, Da, Da!"

I looked at Beth. Her face registered pure horror. "No", she whispered. "No, no, no! Say 'Beth'."

Erin laughed at this new game. "Da!" she called to her sister. "Da!!"

After dinner she followed her beloved big sister around for awhile, utilizing her new speaking skills. "Da!" echoed through the house during bathtime, reading time, and even during prayers. Beth seems resigned to it. I think she realizes that she can't win this one, no matter how hard she tries. It's too soon to know whether this was just Erin's word of the day, or whether this new name will be used for the next few months. Time will tell. Hopefully, twenty years from now, her siblings won't still be calling her "Da". But somehow, I think this nickname is going to stay with poor Beth for a long time.