Mama Says Om: Yo-Yo

6.05.2006

"yo-yo sleepover, yo-yo sleepover" sings Annie and I have to hide my laughter. The song she is singing is Yo-Yo Sweet Yo-Yo (Dan Zanes with the Rubi Theatre Co.). The words are "Yo-Yo Sweet Yo-YO", but Annie has always heard it as sleepover. I find that I cannot bring myself to correct her. There have been so many simple pleasures and small surprises that come with having a child and the mixed-up, self-created language they speak is one of them. So please indulge me as I share a few...

In our home you need a "rainbrella" and I am typing on a "perio". Madison screams for "Ah-Knee" and likes to put her "mon" in the "money bank". When putting together a puzzle the last piece is "last but not first". Outside you may use a "delacote" (telescope-this one to me awhile to figure out) to see a "hopgrasser" or a "bun" in our "back-a-yard". "Dayda", (Dasia) the cat, may "wannanee" (want to eat) and Annie loves to wear her "flip-n-flops" in the summer.

Each time Annie corrects herself I try to make her go back to her annie-ism but she will not oblidge me. Annie is slowly growing out of this phase and Madison is just learning to talk and will add her own words to the ever growing dictionary of our lives. In so many ways the trials and joys of parenting are universal but it is these little languages that the experience of each family becomes so unique. I try to record as many of these expressions as I can. They always remind me that every moment of a young childs life is spent figuring out all those things that we take for granted and sometimes singing "yo-yo sleepover" makes much more sense.