I think every kid growing up goes through that stage before they really learn to "talk proper" during which they speak a language known only to them and those few who have been around them long enough to understand the contextual meaning of their utterances. M&M was and remains no different. At the tender age of 4 years old, she is very well spoken in comparison to others in her age group. Heck, she even puts some adults to shame. Even still, there are several M&Misms that I want to remember, and I thought I would take a moment to share them with you as well.
"Wazzat?" - This was one of M&M's earliest words. Spoken in a husky, almost whisper while pointing, this was M&M's way of asking what something was. Often repeatedly in the space of a few minutes. "Wazzat?" she would say. We would respond with whatever the object in line of sight was. Lather, rinse, repeat. Until one time, she pointed straight up into the night sky. "Wazzat?", she asked. "That's the moon, M&M." I told her. "Dat's da mOOOooon." She had just spoken one of her first complete sentences.
"Mo?" - First a question and later one of her many nicknames. During the "Wazzat?" phase around 1 year to 18 months, If she wanted more of something, she would ask, "Mo?". Soon, her Opa (that's German for "grandpa") took to calling her "Mo" and the nickname stuck.
"Watch Wall-E?" - The movie Wall-E was the first movie we allowed M&M to see. Roughly around the time she was 18 to 24 months. The Queen's Navigator has the rear entertainment system built in. So, when we would load her up, the first thing she would ask for in the car was "Watch Wall-E?" It didn't matter if we were making a cross country trek or just a 5 minute drive to the store. She didn't know the difference. Once we widened the viewing list a little, it was still "Watch Wall-E?" even if she really wanted to watch Finding Nemo.
"Juish?" Pronounced "joosh". Juice. Any kind of juish although it was usually apple juish. I was really annoyed when my father in law kept correcting M&M to the point that she started saying "joo-iss" instead.
"Awwhite" This one is pretty common among kids, and I think it needs no explanation. If you can't figure it out, ask a parent.
"Chickenlada" M&M's all time favorite food...chicken enchilada.
"Huggles and Kissles" This one should be self explanatory. It's especially cute when she says she is out of huggles and kissles.
"Can I listen to some music?" This one is a relatively recent addition having developed since she was about 3 and a half. The Queen has an iPad which M&M is already very adept at using. The Queen started out playing music videos to M&M off of YouTube and then progressed to finding soothing jazz compilation "videos" for M&M to listen to. Here recently, M&M figured out that she could watch cartoons on Netflix via the iPad; but, in her mind, it's still all music to her. So, if she wants to watch Masha & The Bear or Strawberry Shortcake, she asks to listen to music on the iPad.
"Gymnasties" Around June of last year, we enrolled M&M in gymnastics. That was a little hard for a 3 and a half old to say, and it came out as "gymnasties". It's hard to argue with a 3 and a half year old when it's so darn cute.
"I got this." M&M's older cousin became famous for a similar line "I do it." Same concept. If M&M thinks she can do something, she says, "I got this, mom/dad".
"Ever God in Heaven" Being Christians, we obviously pray with M&M and have taught her to do so herself. My wife and I tend to start with some version of "Father in Heaven" or "Heavenly Father Great Creator God" or similar words to that effect. M&M always, without fail, starts her prayers out with "Ever God in Heaven." I have no idea where she came up with that, but neither The Queen nor I have any interest in correcting her on that.
