If hummus could talk ...

... it would say, "Doh!" 

According to my 21-month-old daughter Charlotte that is.

I always find it fascinating what children pick up on when they listen to adults.  My husband has a T-Shirt with Homer from the Simpsons illustrated on the front of it.  He has taught Charlotte that Homer says "Doh!" in much the same way as a cow says, "Moo," or a sheep says "Baa."   It's part of her standard "animal noises" repertoire.

A few days ago we were having lunch, breadsticks and sliced vegetables with side dips, one of which was hummus.  Every now and again, Charlotte would say, "Doh!" apparently randomly, and I wondered what was causing it (and she's not normally random in her behaviour).   After a while it dawned on me and I asked her, "What does hummus say?" which got the same response.   It wasn't random at all - she was saying, "Doh!" every time I mentioned the hummus!   Presumably in her mind, Homer and hummus sound very similar.

We also used to think she said, "tick tock" quite randomly, and then we worked out she did it every time she saw a picture of a mouse.  If you ask her what a mouse says, she tells you it says, "tick tock."   I can only imagine that it's a direct result of too much Hickory Dickory Dock.

I hope these associations don't last too long.  While I'm finding it very cute at the moment, going to pre-school thinking that a mouse says, "tick tock," is probably not such a great idea.   

At least she's enjoying her breadsticks.