Stuck!

For a long time I was keeping track of the words Harper said. After about number 70 on the list, I stopped. By that point I found myself responding to most of what she said by thinking, "Wait, has she said ___ before?" When I started having to look words up to see if they were already on the list, that's when I decided we were finished counting.

Right now there are a few words that feature prominently in her growing vocabulary; they are:

1) more -- This is said either in an insistent, whiny tone, or with a question mark at the end, depending on Harper's mood and the object of her desire. If I'm singing a song and she wants me to do it again, that's, "More?" If I've said no more cookies and put them away, that's, "Moooooore!!!!"

2) mommy -- Harper finally moved beyond hollering, "Ma!" at me and actually started saying mommy, which is very nice. Unless of course, I'm making dinner and she's wedging herself between my legs and the kitchen cabinets, using the insistent, whiny tone mentioned above. In this situation, the "Mommy" is usually followed by a string of "Up? Up? Up?"

3) no -- We all understand that it is only a matter of time before, "no," enters a toddler's vocabulary. I did not fully understand that it would become Harper's favorite word. I wonder if there's ever been a study looking for a relation between the number of times a toddler uses the word "no" in a day, and the number of minutes she spends in time out?

4) stuck -- This is perhaps the funniest addition to Harper's vocabulary. "Stuck," began about the same time she began to climb. Or maybe it was the week she got her leg caught in the bars of her crib several times. Either way, her little mind has adopted a very broad definition of the word. She now says "stuck" if she can't get up on something, if she can't get down, if she can't lift a heavy object, or if an object is out of her reach. It has become something of a fall-back word for her in moments of frustration.

Here's a picture in which Harper actually is stuck:



I would like to note that, being truly stuck, she was in no danger while I took that picture!