Kiddo's first phrase/sentence was "need dat" which shortly thereafter expanded to "need dat too" where I was given the luxury of divining what "that" was. Her vocabulary has exploded since then, so often enough, she can actually tell me what she needs. We only really have problems when I miss what she wants, and ask her to repeat herself. She doesn't get that, so instead adds "pease" and repeats her polite word over and over, while I have no idea of her actual desire.
After a while "need" became "want" which was probably the more accurate word to describe the things she was asking for. Recently though, it's expanded into "need-want ___" (fill-in-the-blank). Sometimes they are closer to needs, like when she wants a drink. Sometimes they are wants, like "need-want watch dress movie." My husband commented that it was a weird phrase, but I figure it only makes sense. The meanings of the words overlap so much, it's no surprise that she doesn't know which word applies, and thus uses both.
