Brushing Her Teeth

Mommy was terrified of trying to get Austen to brush her teeth, worrying it would become a big power struggle. She consulted fellow moms and bought special teeth brushing paraphernalia including an Elmo toothbrush.

When first handed the brush, Austen tried brushing her hair with it — the toothpaste is still in her hair 48 hours later. But after Mommy demonstrated using her own toothbrush and nudged Austen’s toothbrush inside her mouth, Austen quickly got the hang of it, seeming to enjoy swishing the bristled end against her gums and sprouting teeth. This morning Austen complained when Mommy took the toothbrush away after fifteen minutes.

Vocabulary

Some of Austen’s most frequently used words and expressions:

“Socks”
“Shoes”
“Boo!”
“Dis?”
“Dis Dat?”: What’s that?
“What’s that?”
“Cat”
“Dada”
“Mmmaa”: Mama
“Gaga: Mommy
“Duck”
“Dog”
“Mooo”
“Woof woof”
“Quack quak”
“Eeeeee!”: I want that!
“Hi!”
“Bye!”
“Uh oh!”
“Ooooo!”: Wow, look at that!
“Ball”
“Thank you” (not very clear)
“Who’s this?” (answering a phone; not very clear)
“Happy”
“Up … Down”
“That”: when Mommy is singing “…That’s Elmo’s world”
“Eyes”: when Mommy is singing “…Eyes and ears and mouth and nose”

“What’s that, Elmo?”

Today, Austen said “What’s that?” clearly several times. Once, Mama explained that it was a picture of a panda and gave Austen her panda bear. Another time, Mama told Austen that she was pointing at a banana.

When Elmo came on Sesame Street, Austen ran to get her Elmo doll. Mommy was very happy because she ordered it special online.

Interestingly, the panda bear came all the way from Great Britain; Dada ordered it special because Mama’s favorite stuffed animal when she was little was a panda bear.