Max and Elly’s vocabularies continue to grow at an incredibly fast pace. They mimic a lot of what I say whether they really understand it or not.

Max prefers to speak Swahili, while Elly vacillates between English and Swahili. She more often reverts to grunts and whines than Max does, I’ve noticed. It may be because she can’t decide whether she wants to say something in English or Swahili so she just whines. Or it could just be that she’s a typical two-year-old.

These are a few of the funny things they are saying these days:

• They same manya instead of nyama (meat).
• If they want to leave the immediate area they’ll put up one hand and say “I’ll be back” or “I’m coming.” And as they walk away they pause every few feet, turn around and say it again.
• Any scratch, bump or bruise they incur is attributed to the paka (cat), regardless of its actual origin (I doubt the mosquito bite on your leg came from the cat, Max).
• If you ask Max if he’s pooped (Ume poopoo?) he’ll say “Elly ame poopoo!” (“Elly pooped!”) even if he’s got a full diaper. Elly also does this.
• If you ask them who is going to take their bath (kuoga) first they point to the other and say “Elly kuoga!” or “Max kuoga!”
• When a motorcycle passes by our house Elly gets very excited and exclaims “pikipiki!”
• When the dogs in our neighborhood bark, Elly pats my arm or leg repeatedly and whispers excitedly, “Puppy! Puppy!” I’m not sure why she thinks she needs to whisper.
• They both love to talk to Daddy on the phone, but all they ever say is “Hi, Daddy!”; “Bye  Daddy!” and “Mwah!”

And since no post about Max and Elly would be complete without a few cute photos, here you are: