An oldie but a goodie

I finally figured out how to use YouTube. Welcome to 2007, Masala mama. Here's a short video I made a few months ago when June first learned this nursery rhyme.

200 times and counting

I couldn’t wait for June to call me Mama. When we first got back from China, she called everyone Mama except me, of course. Then she dropped it and, over the summer, she started saying Daddy, much to Masala Papa’s happiness. We baited her to say Mama, showing her pictures of Masala Papa and me, pointing to me in the picture and asking my name. No way. June would just look at the picture, look at me and smile. But somewhere in August, she finally gave in and called me by name. Now she won’t stop. Masala Papa half-jokingly suggested that I count how many times she says Mama in a day. So I did. By 6 pm, she was up to 100 times—and in the last two hours before bedtime, once Masala Papa got home, she clocked at least 100 more. She says Mama so many different ways that the word now has multiple meanings. To wit:
ma-MA? ma-MA? ma-MA? ma-MA? – four Mamas in quick succession, accent on the second syllable means “Mama, do it!” with “it” being anything from sticking out my tongue to wearing sunglasses while we dance around the living room.
MaaaaaaaaaMaaaaaaa – one looooong pronunciation, said upon seeing Mama again after a prolonged absence (more than five minutes)
Mama-mama-mama-mama-mama-mama-mama – this one can actually go on forever. In August, June marked another milestone when I put her down for a nap and she started crying for me. Now she does it all the time, although Masala Papa gets his share of Daddy-pleas, too.