How Would You Describe It?

I'm sure I've blogged about this before, and if you know me well you probably know this -- I absolutely LOVE watching language skills develop. This is perhaps my favorite part of seeing my kids grow & learn. Loic is at the prime age now -- he's still mispronouncing many things, and is at that point where he can really describe things well, to get his point across even if he can't come up with the appropriate word.

I'm going to pause for a moment to mention a few of my favorite mispronunciations - I haven't done it in about a year and unfortunately I'm sure I've missed many!

Remokadoke -- remote control

Bayduhder -- refrigerator

Cinderella Cheese -- mozzerella cheese

Owter Ellwurst -- Alastair Ellsworth (He's actually saying this one a bit better now, but this was my favorite version.)

I only have one example to share as far as his ability to describe something -- he often gives great visuals, but the others are escaping me just now. Just this morning he was watching Sesame Street and the skit had several animals in it. He adores animals of all kinds, but that's a lot of names to know, you know? He says, "Hey mom, look! What's that animal? The one with the...little hill?" It was none other than a camel, of course!

In My Expert Opinion...

Today Laurence was a bit distraught to discover a "white thing" on the underside of his big toe. "It's not sore...but it feels funny. And it looks sort of like a little jellyfish. What is it, Mom?" he asked. I knew from his description it had to be a blister, of course, but I was busy with Alastair and told him I'd look at it in a few minutes. Just then Loic walks in the room and went right over to examine the toe, too. Though he generally has a queasy stomach when it comes to skin and related conditions, Laurence convinced him to feel it. "Do YOU know what it is Loic?" Laurence asked him. "Yes, Laurly. I do. It's a squishy polka dot."

Tour de Lance

Yesterday we turned the Tour de France on briefly, and caught repeat footage of one of Lance Armstrong's falls. The announcers then spoke about his race for a bit, as the camera followed him as he continued on the ascent. Laurence pipes up and says, "They keep talking about Lance Armstrong, but where is he?" I said, "He's right there, in the red & black jersey with the number 21 on it." He said, "That's not Lance Armstrong." "Yes, it is. See the rider with the ripped jersey? That's because he fell -- it's Lance." "Are you sure, Mom?" "Yes, I'm positive." He quieted, and I thought he was satisfied, but apparently not. "No, Mom. That's definitely not him. He always wears yellow."

Sistah K's Take

Sistah M, Sistah A and their kids stayed with us for 3 days earlier this week. Sistah A had never met Loic before, and hadn't seen Laurence in 3 years. Just prior to their visit, they also spent 2 days with Sistah K, who had the pleasure of spending an entire week with the boys last summer. Sistah M recounted this conversation that took place between Sistah A and Sistah K...

Sistah A: So, I've never met Loic before...and I haven't seen Laurence in a long time. How would you describe them?

Sistah K: They are completely different.

Sistah A: What do you mean?

Sistah K: Well...Laurence prefers to read about the world...and Loic would rather LICK it!

Georgie Porgie

Loic has been singing about Georgie Porgie for well over a week now. Apparently he's tired of the same old lyrics, because this morning he made up some of his own. Not only did Georgie Porgie kiss the girls and make them cry, but he has a yard, and a house with a fire place. He has a dad, who put some wood to burn in the fire place, which made Georgie Porgie run away. (Poor Georgie...he seems to fear not only boys playing, but a nice crackling fire, too.) I asked Loic to tell me more about Georgie Porgie, but he just shook his head and said, "No mom, I can't." When I asked him why he said, "Because he's gone!"

Summer Lovin'

Laurence finished kindergarten on Tuesday and he was asking if he would get to see any of his friends over the summer. I assured him we'd get to see at least one or two, whose moms I know, but the others I wasn't sure. He asked, "Well....what about my girlfriend?" I knew he had a "girlfriend" because he'd mentioned her a few times, so this came as no surprise to me. I said I didn't think so, unless we happened to run into her somewhere, because I don't even know her mom's name, phone number, or where they live. Then I said, "Come to think of it, I don't even remember your girlfriend's name. What is it again?" (I actually did, but wanted to see if he & the same girl were still an item!) He hesitated, then said slowly, "Catherine*...WHY?! Are you going to put it on Facebook?" I chuckled, but the look on his face told me this was no laughing matter, so I straightened up and said, "No, of course not." Funny that he's six and uses the word 'Facebook' and (thinks he) understands what Facebook is. Good thing he never mentioned NOT putting it on my blog...

*Note: Name has been changed to protect Laurence & "Catherine's" privacy! (Plus I remembered once I published this post that this blog is linked to Facebook, and my conscious got the best of me.)

Rest in Peace, Paul

Last night we were eating dinner and Loic had 3 helpings of salad, complete with "that white sauce," aka Newman's Own Ranch Dressing. As I was pouring some on, he looks thoughtfully at the bottle and says, "The man from Imagination Movers!" See for yourself...not a bad comparison, really. See Paul Newman (as featured on the bottle of Ranch) here, and Smitty here. Loic is definitely observant. But poor Paul. He's gotta be rolling over in his grave.