"Aaassss!"
The next day she said it again. "Aaassss!" Okay, great. Since we know what it means now I grabbed the game and started painstakingly setting up the blocks of ice for the hundredth time.
But she kept saying it while pointing into the kitchen. She toddled in and I followed her. I had just started boiling water for dinner and had set a bag of rice on the counter. She started getting excited. It wasn't until dinner was served that I realized her fervor was the result of the fact that I had set a plate of rice before her. Looks like "aaassss!" also means rice. Got it, sweet pea.
Fast forward to 6:15 AM Saturday morning. I nursed Aurelia and then set her between us in bed. She climbed on my lap, started moving up and down saying, "aaassss!" It's the crack of dawn and I'm in no mood to play with ice nor cook rice and I JUST WANT TO SLEEP and "ASS! Aaassss! Tottt!"
"Aurelia, it's early in the morning and I have no idea what you want."
I hear a grumble from Mike's side of the bed, "HORSE. She wants you to play horsey with her."
I bounce her up and down on my legs and chant, "riding on the horsey riding on the horsey riding on the horsey trot trot trot." Both of the girls love this game.
And now we know it's all about context, and very slight variations:
If we're in the proximity of the game, and it sounds like "aiisssse" she probably wants to play
Don't Break the Ice. If I'm asking her what she wants for dinner and it is reminiscent of the above, then she wants rice.
If we're romping around (or in bed at 6:15 AM and she's climbing in my lap) and it sounds like "aossse" she wants to trot like a horsey.
Toddler speak deciphered. I dread the day when she says "aaassss!" and there's no alternate meaning.