new words from nowhere

Benjamin has 2 new words: wawa (apparently baby French for "dog": think WOOF WOOF) tractor Each one is slightly surprising to us.

First of all, while "wawa" is indeed what French toddlers call dogs, it isn't a word Nathalie has been using very much. We don't know where he picked it up. Maybe it was all those times we went to the Wawa market in Pennsylvania, when he was still inside his mother.

Second surprise: "tractor" is something I said at dinner tonight to describe the toy he was playing with, but again, it's not a word he would have heard very much. Suddenly, he was saying it, and saying it over and over when he saw how delighted we were. Each time it sounded more like the full grown-up English word "tractor." When he'd drop the toy to the ground, he'd say his favorite words — "par terre" — but then he'd sign "please" and say "tractor." I was pretty impressed.

- papa