Toddler Words and Their Definitions

I wish I had written down all the "made up" words which Ethan and Gavin assigned to things when they were toddlers and preschoolers. When a child assigns their own word for something, I believe it shows how intelligent they are. They are adaptable beings thirsting for communication and they use what they know to connect with others and ultimately get what they want. (Let's cut to the chase, they want it and want it now.) So tonight I've decided to write a few of the words one would hear around our house lately.

Lindsey has assigned the word rainbow to an umbrella. Umbrella is not a word we have used often in the past. Since our move to the East coast, we notice that everyone uses an umbrella, much more often than we would have in the South. There are many more walkers (rain, sleet, or snow) here, hence many more umbrellas. So when we venture out the door on a rainy day, Lindsey replies, "Mom, we need a rainbow!" My thought is, "Of course we do, because if we saw a rainbow, then the rain would be stopping," not realizing that she means an umbrella!

Austin has a few words in his vocabulary worth noting. His first being "Dee-dee" which is adapted from the "Motherese" word blankey, which in turn is adapted from the English word-blanket. A second word, tadtoo, is what he calls crackers. We will hear him break into song with this word sometimes. The last word worth mentioning is nem. I'm afraid I am to blame for the use of this one. We rarely go without having M&M's stashed in the cupboard somewhere and Austin has developed quite the palate for this tasty treat. He now knows which cupboard in which they are placed . . . always. "Nem . . . nem. . . nem . . . NEM! . . .NEM!. . . NEM! . . .

. . . . oh how I will miss these times as they grow older.

To the Baseball Coaches

Dear Baseball Coaches,

I love you all and appreciate the time, and I mean ALL the time you have sacrificed to coach my eager little ballplayers. I'm writing to let you know that I now have all my kids back on a schedule, including bedtime before 10:00. My preschoolers are in bed right now as I write. AND I don't have red clay all over the floor of my van anymore. AND last Saturday, I just could not quite figure out what to do with myself or the family.

Oh, and one more thing, I'm enjoying it!!!

Love,
The Mom

P.S. The boys are missing baseball terribly, so maybe I am too, just a little ; ).

WOW! It's Been a While!

Needless to say there has been a major event take place in our lives! The night I found out we would be moving to New Jersey, and had to keep it a secret, I wanted to blog all my emotions out. But, as I said, we had to keep it on the down-low for some time. Once it became public information, I no longer had time to blog and when I could squeeze some writing in, my computer went KAPUTZ!!!

I am now coming to you from a new state, new computer, new desk, and new chair. (I got goosed by a screw every time I sat in the old chair.) Rob and the three oldest are at a minor league baseball game-Baseball, there's a whole 'nother 10 blog entries I have to make-Austin is in bed for the night. I have a sec to take a baby step towards bloghood once again.

Today was the first day of school which means I have more homework than the kids do. Off I go to fill out emergency contact forms and turn down a listful of opportunities to volunteer for the PTO (I'm horrible, I know-to be honest, I'd just rather help out the teacher). I hopefully will make it back to the blog tonight, if I'm lucky. If not, until tomorrow, my friend!