Look! There's a lion! Or: heeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Chester has quite the list of words at 18 months compared to Pete at about the same age (20 months).

Chester:
Bubbles
Roar ( (Dr. says animal noises count! That's roar like a dinosaur, by the way)
Yeah
Nuh-uh
Dirty
Yucky
More
Up
Help
Ease (please)
Moo
Quack-quack
Boo-boo
Bye-bye
Mama
Dada
Grandma
Grandpa
Hi-yo (hello)

Pete (around 20 months)
Moo
Woof-woof
Choo-choo
More
Please
Hi-you (hello)
Ni-ni (Binky)
Bee-bee (baby)
Bye-bye
No
Woo-woo (ambulance or firetruck)

I'd forgotten how exciting this stage is, all the new things Chester says, adding new words and pronouncing them more clearly every day.  However, I'd also forgotten the terrible noises that come with the frustration of not being able to communicate his every whim and desire.  It's a terrible guttural noise that just grates on my nerves and drives me nuts.  Heeeeeeeeee-heeeeeeeeeee.  He can't be the only 18 month old that makes that sound, so I think some of you probably know what I'm describing. 

Even with his relatively vast vocabulary, he more often than not reverts to the heeeeeee-heeeeeeeee.  As far as I can discern at any given time it means one of the following:  All done/more/no thank you/faster/slower/wait for me/over there/up/down/my butt hurts/I don't want you wiping my butt/I want that/I don't want that/where is it/this is fun/this is not fun.  With that range of expression, I'm sure he's wondering why Mommy just doesn't understand. 

Though I'm a huge fan of the concept of baby sign language, I'll be the first to admit that I'm just not that good of a Mom.  I've got some strengths and some weaknesses as a parent and one of my limits is the ability and patience to teach a toddler sign language.  (If you want further details of my failings as a Mother, just stick around, you'll be sure to see many of them in this blog.)  My sister-in-law teaches my nephew baby sign language, and while I'm thoroughly impressed with T's ability to point out and sign the name for a Lion or Rooster, I just don't see how that is going to help avoid this stage where Chester makes noises like he's possessed by the devil.  Of course if I'm ever in danger of being attacked by a rogue lion while in Africa, I want T with me on the safari.