I've been keeping track of when Ally starts saying a new word or making a new sound. Ally's typical pattern is that when she learns a new word, she all of a sudden starts repeating it obsessively. For a word I had never heard her say before on Friday, she may repeat it 100 times on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and on and on for a couple of weeks until she moves on to another new word. Sometimes the word disappears altogether then, and sometimes she just says it once in a while after that.
I've included sound clips when I have them. I put together several examples of the word or sound in each clip. She can be repetitive, but not quite to this extreme! You will need Apple's QuickTime Player (available for Mac or PC -- it's free and you won't get spammed from downloading it). Feel free to download these sound files if you wish. All I ask is that you send me an email if you use them and link back to this site.
Before listening to these clips, try taking the AllyQuiz to see if you can understand what she's saying.
Enjoy!
Aug 26, 2000 - "Uh-oh"
Sept 30, 2000 - "Out!" or "Out-out-out-out!" (Almost never just once.)
Oct 7, 2000 - "Peek-a-boo"
Oct 28, 2000 - "Hello" (She's said this in the past, but she has definitely refined her pronunciation suddenly. It sounds more like a focused voice and less like a squawky voice.)
Nov 4, 2000 - "Ach-whew!" (My sneeze :-))
Nov 19, 2000 - It's not quite clear yet, but she's been practicing contantly. It's either "want out" or "what ho" (from WarCraft) or something similar. It could also be "lights out", which I've started saying before I turn the lights off. I feel like I can almost understand her, but not quite.
Nov 21, 2000 - A kissy sound. I didn't realize I was so noisy when I gave her kisses!
Dec 1, 2000 - "Shhhhhhh"
Dec 5, 2000 - "Wendi"!
Dec 16, 2000 - I can't quite tell, but it's either "gu-boy" (short for good boy, which I tell the two dogs I'm staying with) or "bu-bye" (short for bye-bye, which I tell her when I leave). It could also be "oh boy", which is a sound she sometimes said when she first came to live with me.
Jan 1, 2001 - "Ally"!
Jan 6, 2001 - "Purple" (unfortunately, she doesn't have the context -- the word is just a ton of fun to say!)
Jan 8, 2001 - An evil sounding giggle!
Jan 12, 2001 - "Ohhhh", "good boy" (in exactly the tone I use with Hiway, very low voice), and "bye-bye" (sounds different than what she was saying in December -- it's very clear now). Wow, three new words in one day!
Jan 19, 2001 - "Hi Ally". She says this as all one word, and in Pete's voice!
Jan 29, 2001 - Raspberry/farting sound. I claim no responsibility for this one!
Feb 3, 2001 - "You all right, Ally" and "Careful!". I usually ask her if she's all right when something scary is happening, like she's being transported in her carrier or one of us walks near her cage with an object she's fearful of. The "careful" comes from us telling the dogs to be careful after they bump her cage.
Feb 17, 2001 - "Be right back!" She's also making a "grrrrr" sound I use when I'm giving one of the dogs a good rub-down.
March 17, 2001 - "Knock it off!" Another one in Pete's voice, from telling the dogs to cease and desist. (As of April 1, she has started using it appropriately, too, like when the dogs are barking or whining. She often says it just as Pete is about to.) She has also added a "Whacha doin'?" the to end of "Hi Ally", both in Pete's voice.
April 15, 2001 - Ally has started imitating the chatter of a fish crow that has been sitting outside her window. She has also started combining two phrases that I say when I'm leaving, "bye-bye" and "see ya later", into "bye-bye-er". Her whistling is becoming much more intricate as well, which I think she's picking up from the wild birds outside.
April 24, 2001 - "Here I go!" I say this to her when I'm about to pick her up when she's in her carrier. "Bye-bye-er" has now morphed into "bye-bye-irl", which I think comes from me telling Nina and Patches "good girl" for sitting before I let them outside. So now she alternates between saying "bye-bye", "bye-bye-er", and "bye-bye-irl" (or "bye-bye-earl", but she doesn't know any Earl's!)