Owl Says What?

I've been practicing animal sounds with Smiley lately. Oh, how I love this age where they can say "moo" and "woof" and bathe in the delight of learning something so simple and sweet. Smiley squeals with happy laughter when she knows an animal or its sound. I could listen to that sound all day.

The sound she knows best is an owl. Come to think, she's been saying, "hoo hoo" with the cutest pursed lips for a couple of months now.

It's because of this enormous talent of Smiley's that I tell you this tale of Turbo. We have this new box of Kleenex® by our kitchen table and so at dinner tonight I asked Turbo, "What kind of animal is that?"

Turbo replied, "A bird. See? There's a pink one here, and a yellow one." He excitedly got out of his chair to show me all the birds on the box, one on each side.

Me: "What sound does that bird make?"

Turbo, without pause: "Turtle-oortle-ooh-ooh. Cheep, cheep. Hoo hoo."

What?! We're pretty sure that was meant to be a "cock-a-doodle-doo," along with some other bird sounds thrown in for good measure.

I'm proud of Turbo's complex web of detailed story-telling and sometimes run-on sentences, but maybe it's time to get back to the basics.

Hoo-hoo.