Context clues, knowing what you want, and the importance of communication

My fifteen month old niece is brilliant. Not that I'm biased.

My brother in law had his infamous birthday and St. Patrick's Day party last night. I had just the right amount of fun, and this morning it was time for hang over food.

I love a good day-after-drinking breakfast. Today the plan was french scrambled eggs and sharp cheddar on a toasted english muffin with Tapatio. Mmmmm. After fumbling through making coffee, I went on autopilot:

A pan goes on the stove over low heat. English muffin split and placed in the toaster (but don't start the toaster yet). Cream and eggs and cheese out of the fridge. Tapatio on the table. A small bowl to scramble the eggs, a fork to do the scrambling, a plate to eat off of, a cup for coffee out of the cupboard. A knob of butter goes in the pan. Cream and eggs and salt in the bowl. Drop the english muffins. Scramble scramble scramble. Drop the eggs.

At this point my niece noticed I was in the kitchen. Analyzing the context clues she determined something tasty was afoot. She toddled in with a piece of buttered toast she had been clutching for about half and hour and went straight to her chair at the table. After a minute of trying to get into it herself, she signed to me for help.

Buckle her in. Shake the eggs in the pan. Butter the muffin. Shake the eggs. Cheese on the muffin and under the broiler. Shake the pan. Pour the coffee. Finish the eggs. Everything goes on the plate. Grab the coffee and to the table I go.

Little Miss Smarmy Pants had been sitting at the table munching on her toast and, as it turns out, waiting patiently. As I tucked into my breakfast she tore off a piece of her toast and handed it to me. Then she lunged towards the scrambled eggs. I'd never known her to eat eggs before, but I'm all for kids getting to try any food they might find appealing. And I was amused at her impressive attempt at bartering.

"Would you like to try some eggs? "

She smiled and nodded. I gave her a forkful.

She threw down her toast and lunged at my plate again. The girl knew what she wanted.

"Do you want more?" I asked, mimicking the baby sign. She signed back definitively: more.

I proffered another bite, mindful to avoid the Tapatio.

Immediately, she signed more again.


Wow. That was the first time I'd ever seen her sign unprompted. I suppose that, even at fifteen months, if you know what you want, you figure out how to communicate it.