Mama! Tweet! Tweet! Nana!

Friday mornings, Amelia attends a Spanish class at her preschool.  Last week, when I went to drop Amelia off, I walked and and saw all the children gathered around one of the teachers.  The teacher was holding a bird on her hand (perhaps a macaw? or parrot?).  The kids were fascinated.  I organized Amelia (backpack, jacket, kisses, etc) and in the process, Gemma noticed the bird.  I can tell you the exact SECOND she noticed because her whole body jumped.  From that moment on, she turned and wriggled and contorted herself in order to see the bird every moment.


Once Amelia had joined the group, I brought Gemma closer over to see the bird.  We stood back behind the group of preschoolers and admired the bird.  It was only then I noticed that the bird was perched on the teacher's wrist and the teacher was holding a banana in her hand.  The bird was eating a banana*.  Gemma was speechless.  She kept pointing at the bird and telling me "Tweet, tweet, **" almost in disbelief.

When we left, Gemma and I had a conversation that just about melted my poor heart.  We walked out of the classroom and into the hallway.  I wasn't two steps into the hallway when Gemma grabbed my face between her two hands and turned my face so I was looking directly into her eyes.

"MAMA!"
"Tweet, tweet!!!"
"NANA"

This was so adorable.  The best translation I can come up with is:

"Mom!  There was a bird and it was eating a BANANA!  Unbelievable!"

My response:

"Did you see the bird eating a banana?"

Her response:

A big belly laugh.  It is so much fun to have your words understood!

*Although the bird was eating the banana, it was also not a very neat eater.  The kids closest were all squealing and laughing as the bird tossed/threw/dropped tiny chunks of banana every time it took a bite.

** At this point, Gemma calls all animals by their sounds or calls.  Most animal sounds are easier to pronouce than the actual names.  So around here, a "neigh neigh" is a horse and a "meow" is a cat.