Letter to Brenden Month 27:

copping a rest, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Well, Brenden; you are two and a quarter years old and you still refuse to speak anything other than Brendenese. You are picking up words here or there and even the occasional sign-language sign. You are comprehending more and are able to follow complex commands. You wanted to use your computer yesterday. You said "Dada, wagh! Dada, wagh!" "Wagh" is your word for 'light', which you have logically compounded to mean computer. I told you (as I've been telling you for almost 2 weeks) "Dada isn't here. I'm mama!" to which you will look at me like I've gone stupid, and say "Wagh! Wagh!"

When dada is home, by the way, I will respond to you calling me "dada" by saying "dada is in the bathroom/kitchen/computer room." Whereby you will head to that room to investigate instead of having to stoop to call me "mama".

But back to the computer, when you dropped the "dada" bit and just referred to the "Wagh" I said "First we must pick up your toys in the living room". Usually I have to point to each and every toy, but you picked up many things on your own. Most of them ended up in the correct boxes, which impressed me.

So I let you play on the computer. You can point and click pretty well, and you know where the "B" key is (also known as the "beeeeee!" key). I had to punish you and remove the computer, because you shut it down by pulling out the power plug. That's a big no-no, there, Cochise.

I'm very proud of you that when we walk around the neighborhood, if you hear a car, you will run up onto the grass away from the street. Yesterday you even reprimanded me for not getting on the grass. I was standing in the gutter. You told me said "dada ado!" "dada ado!" and pointed to the grass next to you. "Ado" is Brendenese for "let's go there".

You must taste real good to ants because you are finding all the ant nests around the house. You are covered with little bites. Every time we find a nest we try to kill it but the survivors manage to move somewhere else. I wish I could rent a couple of anteaters. Of course you would just chase them around like you chase poor kitty.