Bahnah = Nirvana

nir va na
One dictionary defines nirvana as "an ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy."
Another--"any place of complete bliss, delight, or peace."

Daniel defines nirvana as "any place I can get my hands on 'bahnah' (a broom or mop.)"

From the moment we drive into the garage, and Little Man sees the handles of a dozen or so gardening tools, he begins talking, "bahnah, bahnah, bahnah."  I free him from his carseat and set him on his feet.  He walks to the wall where all the tools are mounted and continues to chant.

This is paradise.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

Daniel saw me prop the handle up against a wall one time,
and now he does it just the same way.

Even when something else catches his attention,
bahnah is close at hand.

Shiny floors, huh?

Taking a ride in HeyYea's chair
with bahnah.

Bahnah can be heavy and unwieldly,
but Little Man conquers.

Learning a two-handed bahnah approach.

HeyYea found a smaller, lighter-weight bahnah for D.

More bahnahs!

Complete delight!

Checking out some books
on a bahnah break.

What does Daniel spy?
That's right!  The bunny has a bahnah.
And the story comes to a screeching halt;
he refuses to let me turn the page.

Okay, GiGi thinks, let's try another book.
Another book?  Another bahnah . . .

Did you know that Noah carried a bahnah?
Ri-ise and shi-ine and give God your bahnah bahnah.

On Easter Sunday, Uncle Steve is introduced to bahnah.

Giggles and squeals ensue as Daniel
and bahnah find lots of colored eggs.

We're all trying to figure out where the obsession and the word came from.  Here's my theory.
Just after his balloon/birthday party, D began to learn the word balloon.  It was "ba-oo" "ba-neen" for a few days.  Then Daniel met Blanca, the lady who comes to clean our house every other week.  He fell in love with her, and she's pretty sweet on him too.  Although Blanca is not the only person in this house who uses a broom [I did need to interject this], Little Man began to associate Blanca's name with the long-handled implement.  BAHNAH

How many times can he say the word in 2 minutes?!  Check it out.

BTW--I am so fascinated with the way that babies learn language.  It's a remarkable thing.  The debate may rage about the negative effects of speaking more than one language to a young child.  Opponents claim it slows language development.  However, our nieces Zoe and Mia learned Texas English from their mother, Swiss German from their father, and French from the preschool they attended in Brussels, Belgium.  At ages 5 and 3, these girls can chatter intelligently with the best of them, in three languages.  Daniel gets healthy doses of both English and Portuguese; and at 14 months, he has an amazing bi-lingual vocabulary.  He's been communicating with words for several months now, and I'm delighted to say I've lost count of the entries in his verbal bank.

So, anyway, you've seen what nirvana looks like to Little Man.  Here's what a place of delight and peace/nirvana looks like to me.

Here are 4 of my treasures
and a bahnah.
This truly is nirvana.