[There's apparently a "thing" in blogging circles called "Throwback Thursday" in which the blogger does not actually write a new post on Thursdays, but just posts a super old picture or something. Readers of my blog already have access to all my old pictures, but I thought I might modify this trend and post old, unpublished blog entries from *waaay* back before we moved to Chicago. I don't have many of these, so it will be a short-lived feature. Some of these posts were just never finished; others were left unpublished because I never got around to adding pictures and ended up posting several other entries in the meantime. Sometimes these drafts were chopped up so that I could use bits in them in other posts, so you may or may not recognize a passage.
Today's previously-unpublished post was originally written sometime in 2011.]
When it comes to speaking, Robert really hasn't learned a thing from me. He's gotten it all from his brother. I can whisper, coax, reprimand, or tease, but nothing I say really registers in Robert's ears. On the other hand, everything that Edward says must be listened to and repeated by the littlest Floofkin.
Among other things, this means that every question Edward asks me is repeated at least once -- and probably many, many times thereafter. Robert has a veritable litany of Edwardisms -- a catalog of Things That Must Be Said Often Lest They Be Forgotten that he rotates through, depending on the situation. He remembers everything Edward says or asks long after his brother has moved on.
When reading books or playing with toys, he must ask: "What's dat one called?" When Sesame Street finishes playing on my computer during lunch time, he must announce: "Okay! It's Mommy's turn [to use the computer]!" When asking to play outside with the spray bottles, he invariably makes the solemn vow: "Mommy? I want some squirt! But I won't squirt da bottle inside!" When we go outside, he announces: "Brr! It's so cold outside!" This last made sense in January, but stopped being relevant long before June began plaguing us with its frequent 100-degree temperatures. He talks frequently of "making his exerdices" (doing his exercises) and "being like a letter X" while contorting his body into various bizarre shapes. Whenever we see people out in public -- which, as you can imagine, happens frequently -- Robert excitedly asks: "What's he's name?!" or "What's she's name?!" Each of these exclamations is remembered from something his brother said once upon a time.
Unfortunately for his mimicry-prone brother, sometimes Edward's commentary makes little to no sense. One such instance occurred recently when Edward reflectively recounted a memory of his: "We went to Grandma's house on an airplane, and it was very dark, and I laughed so hard because it was so dark. I like the dark!" "When was this again?" I asked. "In about a week," Edward responded, "for Christmas." Robert had listened to all of this attentively, and was determined to add to such a fascinating conversation: "We saw gramma plane in da dark laughing!" he offered, then added after a pause: "for kimmas!"
A word of advice? If any of my limited readership has such a love of languages and words that s/he chooses to pursue Ph.D. studies in English, might I humbly plead with such a one not to have children? Because the ceaseless talking of those darling, beloved, adorable little cherubs will be anything but heavenly.
Today's previously-unpublished post was originally written sometime in 2011.]
When it comes to speaking, Robert really hasn't learned a thing from me. He's gotten it all from his brother. I can whisper, coax, reprimand, or tease, but nothing I say really registers in Robert's ears. On the other hand, everything that Edward says must be listened to and repeated by the littlest Floofkin.
Among other things, this means that every question Edward asks me is repeated at least once -- and probably many, many times thereafter. Robert has a veritable litany of Edwardisms -- a catalog of Things That Must Be Said Often Lest They Be Forgotten that he rotates through, depending on the situation. He remembers everything Edward says or asks long after his brother has moved on.
When reading books or playing with toys, he must ask: "What's dat one called?" When Sesame Street finishes playing on my computer during lunch time, he must announce: "Okay! It's Mommy's turn [to use the computer]!" When asking to play outside with the spray bottles, he invariably makes the solemn vow: "Mommy? I want some squirt! But I won't squirt da bottle inside!" When we go outside, he announces: "Brr! It's so cold outside!" This last made sense in January, but stopped being relevant long before June began plaguing us with its frequent 100-degree temperatures. He talks frequently of "making his exerdices" (doing his exercises) and "being like a letter X" while contorting his body into various bizarre shapes. Whenever we see people out in public -- which, as you can imagine, happens frequently -- Robert excitedly asks: "What's he's name?!" or "What's she's name?!" Each of these exclamations is remembered from something his brother said once upon a time.
Unfortunately for his mimicry-prone brother, sometimes Edward's commentary makes little to no sense. One such instance occurred recently when Edward reflectively recounted a memory of his: "We went to Grandma's house on an airplane, and it was very dark, and I laughed so hard because it was so dark. I like the dark!" "When was this again?" I asked. "In about a week," Edward responded, "for Christmas." Robert had listened to all of this attentively, and was determined to add to such a fascinating conversation: "We saw gramma plane in da dark laughing!" he offered, then added after a pause: "for kimmas!"
A word of advice? If any of my limited readership has such a love of languages and words that s/he chooses to pursue Ph.D. studies in English, might I humbly plead with such a one not to have children? Because the ceaseless talking of those darling, beloved, adorable little cherubs will be anything but heavenly.
"I comed here!"
"I just crashed into Robert when I was felling off the wall!"
"One more last drink of milk!"
"Can I have another more last drink of milk?"
"I want one more last drink of milk again!"
"My feets are like hands!"
"I just crashed into Robert when I was felling off the wall!"
"One more last drink of milk!"
"Can I have another more last drink of milk?"
"I want one more last drink of milk again!"
"My feets are like hands!"
Edward takes his role as Household Language Instructor in Chief rather seriously, but even so he sometimes has serious grammatical questions to bring to me. Whether or not I understand the question is, unfortunately, no certain thing:
Edward: "Mommy? What do you mean by the way?"
Me: "Hunh? What do you mean?"
E: "No, what do you mean by the way?"
M: "Edward, I have no idea what you mean by 'what do you mean by the way.'"
E: "No, Mommy, I want you to mean by the way!"
(Enter Robert: "Mommy? What you mean by way!")
M: "You want to know what 'by the way' means?"
E: "Yes!"
But perhaps my laborious efforts to model proper English are not entirely pointless. Just now, Edward approached me and announced:
"Mommy? We -- Robert and I -- are going to pretend we're Dash!"
*Sighs happily.* Now, that is precisely the sort of beatific grammatical construction up with which I will definitely put.
[And now, the requisite old picture:]
[And now, the requisite old picture:]
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