... your mother and i...

L has always been good with words. At least good with repeating them (minus a slight lisp that I tend to play up a bit in this blog). She started talking early, and has hardly paused since. I suppose there's something typically second-child about that, but I'm too lazy to do a search and find references. Seems likely though - she had K's example from early on.

But where she has been able to pronounce and use complicated words and sentences for years now, there's some discrepancy between usage and comprehension.

A recent example:

me (getting out the glass with the toothbrushes in it): Which brush do you want to use, L? K, come brush your teeth!
L: The printheth one!
me: That's K's toothbrush. K!
L (crestfallen look, though we go through this most every night): I want a printheth bruth!
me: I know. Maybe the next time your mother gets more toothpaste she can get a princess brush for you?
L: But thee did!
me: She did? Did what?
L (pointing): Get more toothpathe! Your mother and we went to Target and got more toothpathe!
me (my mother?!?): Uh, oh. Well, maybe we need to ask her to look for a princess brush next time.
L (arms crossed): Oh, I gueth! I want the Light McQueen one!
me: The red one is yours, right?
L: Yeah! K's is the blue one!!
me (handing L the brush): K, if you don't brush your teeth you'll end up looking like me!