The Squawk and the Mama Nod

THE SQUAWK

Molly has taken to making a crazy noise whenever she wants something.  It sounds like a bird who has just received a wedgie. 

I call it...

The Squawk.

I've tried for the last few days to catch it on video but it is really tricky.  I'm hypothesizing that the sound is modeled off of a bird that is also particularly tricky to catch.

It's also very tricky to explain how/why she does it.

If something surprises her.  (Surprised Squawk)

If you do something she doesn't like. (Warning Squawk)

If she runs out of food.  (Feed Me Squawk)

If she needs your attention.  (Lookieme Squawk)

If she gets excited. (YAY Squawk)

If she needs to make a reactionary noise and doesn't know what else to do.  (Squawk?)

Finally today we caught something that closely resembles a wild Squawk...a captivity bred Squawk if you will.  It is docile in comparison.

(See what I did there?  You were devastated that there wasn't going to be video evidence of this quirky she'll-grow-out-of-it-soon Mollyism.  I bet you had the email to me all drafted..."You HAVE to catch this on video.  Don't do laundry, don't make dinner, don't work on your business.  Just keep that camera handy to catch The Squawk".  Now you will be less disappointed that this one was carefully grown in a petrie dish.)

In closing, the word "squawk" is, quite possibly, the most unnatural word to type.  I typed it 11 times in the last few minutes and did it incorrectly every.  Single. Time.

THE MAMA NOD

As I've mentioned, Molly is pretty good at communicating what she wants.  What she can't say directly, she can oftentimes convey with pointing or gesturing.

But really, if you think of all of the things in the world that she could possibly be trying to say to me...there are A LOT of moments where I haven't the damnest clue what she is trying to get me to understand.

I know I'm in trouble when I get the Mama Nod.

Picture this.  We walk, hand in hand, from the kitchen to the living room.  We sit on the floor and she says "Mama" whilst nodding her head.  No other words.  No pointing.  No nothin.

WHAT DOES SHE WANT?

If you don't immediately understand what she is thinking ("read my mind or we're through!") she gets more and more worked up.  

"Do you want to read a book?"  A whine (shakes head).  

"Do you want your juice?"  Nah (shakes head).

A Mama Nod.

"Do you want to sit on the couch?" A longer whine (shakes head).

"Do you want to eat?"  A SQUAWK (shakes head).

A Mama Nod with a pout.

"Do you want.....ummmmm."

Temper tantrum.

Then we go outside.