'Here you go'

I thought I'd record a couple of language anecdotes before I forget them. They're not poignant or immensely significant - they're just typical of where Tom is at.

Curled up in Tom's 'Racing Car Bed!' (it is always pronounced with an exclamation mark) this evening, Tom and I read perennial favourite 'The Three Little Pigs'. The first pig had just met the little girl and, spotting him for the mug he was, she'd sold him a load of straw. I read the next line -

''I will make a house of straw' said the first little pig'

and Tom dived in with the next ...

'So he did just that!'

Hardly remarkable I know. Tom is so familiar with the story - I do the whole pausing for him to finish the line thing and getting him to describe the pictures so he can pretty much tell it himself. What struck me though was that this was just a throw away line that I've never emphasised - it just links the interesting bits together but Tom has absorbed it without being 'taught' and knows its right place.

This morning Tom was sat on the bottom step and I was putting his shoes on him (pretty much the only piece of clothing he will deign to let a grown up put on him without a fight) and Tom went into a little monologue as is his wont -

'Lady put the shoes on Tom'
'Lady said 'Here you go Tom''
'Daddy said 'Thank you lady''

And so Tom recited his account of the purchase of his latest pair of shoes - an event that took place weeks ago. This made me chuckle for all the reasons it does any parent: he picks the oddest things to remember and natter on about, he uses a phrase that we must use a lot ('Here you go') and applies it to a memory in an appropriate way but where it wasn't used originally,

...and he's learnt some manners somewhere along the line too.