Mamane and other fruit

Mamane (emphasis on last syllable) - that's Lia's word for banana, the Mama of all fruit! Fruit are her absolute favorite, and nobody will be surprised to know that she finished both bowls of blueberries. Now with vegetables, meat, and fish, well, that's a different story. Lia has become a bit more picky. Pictures of empty lunch plates and inflated bellies haven't been taken in months. Too bad, but who has the time to sit down and eat when there are much more important things to digest? Places to explore? Lia isn't very shy, and that's something we're pretty proud of. No, she won't just take anybody's hand, but she will look you straight in the eye and and maybe show you a toothy smile if you seem to deserve it. And then she'll talk your ear off. That's because Lia isn't very shy with words either. Her vocabulary is a funny mixture of German, English, and even Hebrew, all embedded in baby babbling that actually makes up 90% of her talking and is confidently and convincingly brought forward. Some of her 'real' words have a funny Lia-twist to them, like 'Mamane' for Banane or 'Boot' for Brot (German = bread). Her dear boyfriend's name is 'Lo', 'Auf' is her word for sunglasses (putting on shades = Sonnenbrille AUFstetzen), and 'Hallo' means telephone. She will say 'tuck' for truck, and 'dati' to say thank you, a cute combination of danke and grazie. Now if she wants to drink water she will only use the Hebrew word 'maiim'. Of course we've already presented Lia's impressive Hebrew skills to her Israeli relatives. A book is a 'book', and if one story isn't enough, she will ask for 'moj'. Lia's alphabet doesn't include an R yet. To Lia, Babel is no state of confusion but one of sense and clarity. It's really sad that we soon have to leave the States. Hopefully Lia will find the American R before we leave and hold on tight to it! Rrrrrrrrrrrr.