Nightcrawler Goes Bamf

The classic animal sounds discussion has been a bit difficult at our house. You know, you point out an animal, and get the kid to say it's name, and then you ask "And what sound does a cow make?" The kid is supposed to joyfully moo and bleat until your brains leak out your ears.

Adam, however, has never seen a cow, sheep, or chicken, unless it's served on top of pasta, or with a nice Berenaise sauce. He's intrigued by more mundane pets, but too skittish to get close. When we see a dog outside, I turn into a crazy woman, jumping and pointing and screeching, "Doggie, Adam! Look at the doggie!" The poor doggie tries very hard to blend in with the sidewalk. Should the doggie (or, more rarely, kitty) be close enough, I babble about the nice doggie, would Adam like to pet the nice doggie? See, Mommy pets the nice doggie! But he backs away, not sure whether to be more afraid of the terrified doggie or his lunatic mother.

I think the lack of exposure explains the fact that he's unwilling to entertain the idea that a sheep does, in fact, go baa. Certainly, it's funny when Mommy tells him about how cows go moo, or ducks go quack, or oragutans go ook-ook-ook, but it's nothing he's willing to commit to. Cat goes meow? Well, it's an intriguing theory.

It turns out, though, that he's got this thing down better than I thought.

Last night, we were playing on the front porch (up the steps, down the steps, up the steps, down the steps), when several of the neighborhood dogs began the twilight bark. I'm not sure what they were passing along, but it must have been pretty important; everyone was getting in on it.

Adam: Dah!
Mom: Yes, sweetie, that's - Did you say dog? Doggie?
(That's ridiculous - there isn't even a dog in sight, and he's only been around a barking dog once or twice)
Adam: (more firmly) Dah! Dah!
Mom: That's right, it's a dog! What sound does a doggie make? Does a doggie go woof?
Adam: (excited) Woo! Woo! Dah!

So, there you have it. A doggie goes woof, but good G-d, lady, don't harp on it. I look forward to the day when we can agree that a hippopotamus goes hruuch, and a dodo goes pock, pock.