Parlez vous Mats?

As I mentioned previously, Mats' linguistic development went into overdrive while Joost's parents ("Oma" and "Opa") were here. With Oma counting diligently, the list topped 100 words by the time she left. Having learned two foreign languages at later stages in my life, this development utterly baffles me. I've found the trick to learning languages is learning to listen to what is important and forgetting all the rest until you can process a little more quickly. Mats clearly has that down. If I say "If you want to go to the park, you need to go get your socks and shoes", Mats warps to his room and back with socks and shoes in hand. And he's starting to understand how words are put together. Witness a recent conversation we had over dinnter:

MK: "Papa?"
Me: "He's still at work."
MK: "Auto? Huis?" (= "Car? Home?").

He is litterally a sponge soaking it all up. It's spitting it back out that sometimes distorts things. During that same dinner, Mats requested one of his favorites: cherry tomatoes. In Dutch, "tomato" is "tomaat". In Mats-lingo it's simply "maat!" Which he usually yells at the top of his lungs as soon as he spots their telltale red. Here is how our conversation went:

MK: "Maat!"
Me: "Would you like a tomaat?"
MK: "MAAT!" (translation: "that's what I said, you silly mommy")
Me: "Repeat after me: To-Maat"
MK: "Maat!"
Me: "To"
MK: "To"
Me: "Maat"
MK: "Maat"
Me: "To-Maat"
MK: "Maat!"

Clearly the first syllable is fluff and not necessary for communication. Smart kid - he got tomatoes.