Interpretations in Communications

“I really think she is imitating our eating sounds,” Clara Grace’s daddy observed after some careful scrutiny of his daughter’s novel sucking noises during dinner one night. Clara Grace’s mommy paused to evaluate the little girl’s loud smacking and slurping. “Well,” she told him after finding no better explanation, “I only hope it’s your eating sounds she’s imitating.” It was the next morning when Clara Grace’s daddy found the true purpose of his daughter’s odd noises though. While feeding his daughter some delicious butternut squash, he noticed Clara Grace begin her strange slurping ritual. This time however, she also pointed to her sippy cup of water, which remained just out of reach on the highchair tray. “Ah, ha,” her daddy exclaimed, “you want water, WA-TER.” By the end of the meal, Clara Grace’s daddy had her saying “Ahhh,” and pointing to the cup whenever she was ready for a drink. Of course, sometimes the little girl forgets herself and reverts back to her old, slightly less refined, way of communicating, but her parents feel confident that even the etiquette columnists would be understanding at this stage.