Tuppetee

Ella's vocabulary is expanding so rapidly these days that sometimes I find myself shaking my head wondering how or when she learned certain phrases.  It wasn't all that long ago that she only used a few words which was frustrating for all of us when she was trying to communicate but now she definitely tells us in no uncertain terms what she is feeling and what she wants.  I love catching her talking to herself when she is playing so that I can get a tiny little glimpse into what's going on in her little head which is so full of big ideas.

Although she is fairly articulate there are times when she just can't get her point across either because she doesn't  know the words, or because we simply can't understand her.  She quickly angers when she is trying to say something that we just don't get.

The other day I was sitting down with her and she said out of the blue "Tuppetee mama".  I had no idea what she was talking about and it was the first time I'd heard her say it.  I asked her to repeat it, "Tuppetee mama!".  I still had no idea and asked her to say it again.  "TUPPETEE MAMA!!", now she was yelling at me but still I didn't know what she meant.  Then there was screaming and tears.

It wasn't until later that day when I put the kettle on and she said it again, did I put two and two together and realised that she was asking for a cup of tea.  When I asked if that's what she meant she didn't need to say any words, I could tell from the look on her face that she was thinking "of course it is you stupid woman!"

She'd never had a cup of tea before but I got out a small egg cup and poured a tiny bit of my tea into it and filled it up with milk.  She sipped on her cup of tea and after each sip made an "ahhh" sound.  Where on earth she got that from I have no idea but she thinks it's hilarious (and I must admit it is very cute and I always laugh when she does it).

The other day I was shopping and saw a cute little tea set and since she'd been a good girl that week I couldn't resist buying it for her as a reward.  Since then we've had countless tea parties with her dollies and toys and tuppetee has become a regular phrase in our house now whenever we sit down for  a cuppa and each sip is always followed by an enthusiastic "ahhhh" of appreciation.