New Sounds

It's curious to watch Nora, who is now nine months old, learn to make new sounds with her mouth. She regularly says "Papapapapa", "Mamamama", and "Dadadada", although I remain unconvinced that she assigns any significance to these utterances. Just before Christmas she learned to "blow a raspberry", a skill she uses with higher frequency when moving in her stroller or in the car. I like to think that she's imitating a motor, but so far she hasn't learned to switch gears. On one particular walk over the Christmas holidays, I had to wipe her chin about every fifteen meters because it was soaked with saliva expelled during said sonic production; that is when I shot the video you see below. Her vocal creativity is positively correlated with boredom, so if you talk to her or give her attention in any way (like pointing a video camera at her), she immediately stops. It's only in moments of inattention that she feels the need to entertain herself.

Over the New Year's holiday she learned to click her tongue. Immediately causing her grandparents and parents to do the same trying to get her to repeat it. "How do we call the donkey? [sht-ick!]" It was pretty adorable. We did it so much I half expected a herd (assload?) of donkeys to show up at the door. Yesterday morning she was clicking away like she was raised by Bushmen.

I wonder what sounds she'll be making next?