vocabulary

As Tiny sits in a sea of spilled corn puffs, alternately eating them and swatting them with the fly swatter, I am reminded that the toddler years are, how shall we say it, experimental years.  His creative approach to snacking and entertainment (snacktainment*, one might call it), is a good example of the randomness of the toddler and the bizarre output that can spill forth from seemingly quite simple input.  (It's also an example of a wearying mess that someone has to clean up eventually, but that is overlooked for the sake of tonight's brief discussion.)  Let's be honest here, who amongst you would have combined the fly swatter with the snacking?   The boy's a creative genius.

And so it is with Tiny's language acquisition.  Or should I say "language creation."  We have been mightily entertained as he picks up words, mispronounces some, creates others and just generally communicates in his own unique way.  Like most parents, we are dreading the time when he sorts it all out and starts to speak as we do.  So, for posterity's sake, here are a few Tiny classics for the public record. 

weemow (trans: lawnmower)

wind trauma (trans: weed trimmer)

agaseam (trans: icecream)

manny (trans: watermelon)

mochacycle (trans: motorcycle)

Tiny has also recently learned the word "huge."  He applies it indiscriminately but fairly across categories, with no actual connection between their size and the application of the word:  HUUUGE truck; HUUUGE doggie;  HUUUGE man; HUUUGE corn puff. 

This learning to speak gig is very entertaining, it has to be said.  HUUUGEly entertaining, even.


* While 'snacktainment' is very much a Tiny creative, expressive moment, it is also, and perhaps more importantly, a Harmless Toddler Distraction Method (H.T.D.M.). It allowed Mum to write a long overdue blog post and Dad to cook dinner without the dog losing an eyeball or a little boy shouting "LADDER, LADDER, LADDER, LADDER, LADDER, LADDER etc." (because somebody made the mistake of letting him up the step ladder to "help" with the dishes one day and it was so exciting that it remains the number one thing to do in the kitchen).