phrenology

Nathalie just brought Benjamin downstairs so she could get something out of the freezer chest. I held him against my chest while she dug through the frozen foods.

He pointed to things and I told him what they're called. Then he pointed to Nathalie's phrenology head, which sits on the window by my desk, and he said, "Tay!"

I looked at his mother, who had found what she was looking for, and I asked, "Did he just say tête?"

She pointed to the head and asked, "Benjamin, qu'est-ce que c'est?"

"Tay!"

So I guess he does, indeed, know the word tête.

It's not part of the /sh/ cluster he's been focused on, but it is French, as are almost all his new words recently.

Speaking of phonetic clusters: this morning, I was holding Benjamin in the living room while his mother prepared my morning vitamin C drink.

He pointed to a vase of yellow roses and said, "Fla! Fla!"

And I said, "Yes, those are flowers, fleurs."

Then he pointed to a peace lily and said, "Fuh! Fuh!"

"Yes," I said. "Those are leaves, feuilles."

Then, hearing his mother dropping ice cubes into my carafe, he excitedly pointed toward the kitchen and said, "Fwa-fwa! Fwa-fwa!"

"That's right. Your mother is putting ice cubes in my drink, and they're froids."

This isn't new vocabulary, but I enjoyed hearing the string of F-words, so to speak.

- papa

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Update:

I went upstairs for a quick visit, and Benjamin was touching his head and saying tête instead of "tay." He did it several times, pronouncing both T's. He's learning fast.