Name that Object!

Every day I try and get Claire to name different things rather than point and grunt like she usually does. Her verbal skills come a distant second to bungee jumping and I can understand why. I mean, why talk when you can so easily do! Or aggressively point or scream/cry. Personally, English and I usually butt heads so I can see where Claire gets it from. I think if Casey ever heard her call the airport the 'plane station', he might literally curl into himself and cry.

It's not as if Claire is far behind. She's catching up, but she likes to put a little twist into the whole concept of talking. With the exception of Mamma, Dadda, Bye, Hi and Ollie, she refuses to put the first letter onto a word. So 'back' is 'ack', 'milk' is 'ilk', 'stuck' is 'uck', and 'sit' is 'it' (the latter 2 words can lead us into trouble if she doesn't start putting that consonant where it belongs). So this afternoon we're sitting in her room reading books and I'm asking her to name various things in the book and in the room.

Me: "What's this?" *pointing to a duck*
Her: "uck"
Me: "Great. Oooo.. what's in the bowl?" *pointing to a fish*
Her: "ish"
Me: "Who's this red monster?" *pointing to elmo*
Her: "ehl-oo"
Me: "Yay! Hey, what's this animal?" *pointing to a dog*
Her: "Ollie!"

Yes, that's right. Ollie. It didn't dawn on me until that moment that for the past week or so she's been calling dogs Ollie. Ollie is our dog, but he's more than just a dog to us, so Claire has only known Ollie as Ollie. I do use the word "doggie" or "puppy" when they pass us on the street or appear in her books, but Ollie is a dog that is an Ollie. Ergo, dogs are Ollies.

Good grief. If all dogs were Ollie, I'd fear for mankind. Ollie is too smart for his own good and having hundred of thousands of Ollies just might lead to an "ollie" revolution.