Talkie

The evolution of Toddler-Speak is a fascinating thing. And who says it has to make sense? Here's a crash course:

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"Mom, where is my goginah?"

???

"Hey! Is that a deedah?"

Wah...?

These multi-purpose words, among several others, mean whatever he wants them to mean and usually seem to function as last-minute stand-ins for words he doesn't know. They're always the same, no variance in pronunciation, but never the same meaning either. He uses them nonchalantly in conversation, fully expecting me immediately to comprehend.

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Also, a general name for imaginary friends, story characters, stuffed animals. "This is Lockalodie." And then he sings it out: "LOCK-ah-loooodiieeeeee!"

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Or, when he doesn't know the name for something, he just calls it by it's color. "I want the BLUUUE!!! Where IIIIS it???" or "Look! See that Green, Momma?"

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Sometimes, his words are just a misunderstanding of the way a real word sounds. This morning, he sneezed, and then said, "I have snod!" You mean, snot, I corrected. "No! Snod! It's in my nose!"

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He came down the stairs during quiet time and I was telling him that quiet time was not really over, but he was trying to change the subject.

"Um! Um, yestahday... ah went up the mountain!"

Whatever, but quiet time's not over yet.

"Yeah! And the tractor uh DUMPED ah cow poop!"

But you need to go lay in your bed for a while longer.

"Oh, and ah dinosaur say 'RRAAAARRRRR'!!!"

Jonah...

"Hello! I Gertie Goose! I ah play a g'tar!"

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He's been learning a song in Sunday School, There Is A Green Hill Far Away, that they're going to sing for Easter. The other day I overheard him singing, perfectly on key, "There is a backhoe far away..."

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Sigh.