Kids' Cute Words

This morning was the men's breakfast at church.  (Which was really good, by the way.) I had some work to do in the office afterward, but when I came out of the elevator upstairs, I heard Lexi calling out, "Pa-Pa!" in her deep-toned Brooklyn accent.  So I looked in the auditorium and saw that she and Haley were there with Curtis--who was helping Billy and Shane set up things onstage for the weekend. They both came running over to me and Haley proceeded to rattle on about knowing that granddad (Bruce) wasn't going to be "teaching tonight."  I wasn't exactly sure what her point was, but her final comment was, "I knew that he wasn't teaching, because I have a very good remembery."  I thought that was so cute.

It reminded me of the funny little phrases that have stuck in our memories of Kristi and Jennifer's growing up days.  

Kristi used to love spaghetti more than anything.  She called it SPED-ih-dy.  She also loved bananas (poor child).  She said the word almost right--it was the accent that was wrong.  She called them BAH-nuh-nuhs.  When Jennifer was born, Kristi (who was 3 at the time) loved to watch her sleeping.  Once, seeing her wake up, Kristi excitedly said "She open she eyes!"

My favorite word was Jennifer's take on air-conditioning.  She referred to it as "AIRK-shuh-nar-ey."  Lyn and I still say that when referring to a.c. at home.  It's  much more interesting than "air conditioner."  Both Jennifer and Kristi were pretty big kids before they understood that "afternoon" was a word.  They thought it was "safternoon," having heard "this afternoon" thousands of times.  (e.g., "We're going to a birthday party tomorrow safternoon.")

To this day, it's a treat to hear Kristi say "Cracker Barrel" (the restaurant).  And speaking of more current word mix-ups (as heard, not spoken), if you want to hear a REALLY funny story, have Jennifer tell about her short-lived quest for "castor oil"  toward the end of her pregnancy.  It's a riot.

Anyway, I'm sure you parents (or grandparents) have some fun kid-sayings that are precious to your family's history.  Why don't you share one or two?!  Surely you have a very good remembery too!

Have a great weekend!

[SUNDAY MORNING EXTRA:  Lyn told me last night that when she was driving Lexi to church yesterday, the car radio was turned on a news show while Lexi quietly did her own thing in her car seat.  When the news reporter mentioned the name Barak Obama, Lexi--staccato Brooklyn accent intact--parroted, "Buh-rocka-BAM-uh!  Buh-rocka-BAM-uh!  Buh-rocka-BAM-uh!"  She's quite the playback machine!]