E-I-E-I-O

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post about Suzanne's language development.

Since then, things have progressed backwards or forwards, depending on how you look at it. She spent last week practicing the word coquine and this week it's been cela. A couple weeks ago, a good friend from college popped up from Paris for a night and Suzanne took one word away from that intensive English session: chocolat (in French please).

Suzanne's also been singing a lot. She prefers Bateau sur l'eau which I have translated into English to sing to her thus sticking to the no French rule. It sounds really dumb in English by the way. And she's also just caught on to Old McDonald (hence today's outing to a farm which I'll write about another time) and Row row row your boat which she thinks is about her Aunt Melanie (merrily, merrily...). And Cbeebies is one of the best discoveries I've made in a long time. For any other Franco-English moms reading this, you can listen to it on the internet - songs, stories, games and all in English! It also feeds her Charlie and Lola obsession.

And colors. She knows red, yellow and blue in two langauges. Now that's cool. She's also carrying on conversations, making sentences and asking for things. Of course, we only understand about 20% of what she's saying but she is really talking!

Some of my favorite Suzanne-isms at the moment are: bouya (panda), cocdi (crocodile) , momis (hippopatumus which sounds depressingly like mommy's ie mommy is a hippo), cocalo!!! (cocadoodledo)

I am not getting disouraged, although I find it hard that I have become maman with the very French nasal sound at the end of the word. But I have taken to heart all the comments posted last time and am trying to convince my husband that 3 weeks in the States this summer would be oh so much more fun that spending 3 weeks at his parents' place in the Southwest. I mean, who cares about a pool, great running routes, wonderful markets with fresh cabecou goat cheese. Besides, the Gorges de l'Avéyron isn't that beautiful and the market at St. Antonin Noble Val isn't that great (do I sound convinced?). I'd much rather spend time eating lobster and hanging out on the rocky coast of Maine and hitting LL Bean at 3 am!

Mama (aka grandma) is coming in less than a week for a little over a week's stay. Seeing as my daughter is far from stupid, I think she'll adapt quickly. And so will my mom whose also pretty smart herself. Good thing she did a couple years of French in college because I think she'll need it!