My husband and I often tease that we need a Greenleigh to English Dictionary. If only one existed. I would buy every copy. So I finally decided that maybe I should start my own dictionary. Toddler-ese, if you will. Here are a few of our favorite Greenleigh “words”.
Guck: Stuck. She often uses this when I am trying to hold her and she doesn’t want to be held or is in the process of The Noodle. No dear, you aren’t stuck. I am trying to hold you back from tackling the dog, who quite frankly, has never been your biggest fan. No need to make it worse, mmkay?
Guys: Fries. I really try to limit the amount of fast food she consumes, but she knows that if we are in a drive-thru and a bag comes through the window, there are fries in it. This is hardly ever a problem, unless we are at Starbucks. Try convincing her they don’t sell fries at Starbucks. I dare you.
Kid-Kat: Kitty cat. Her nick name for our cat Sonoma. Sonoma is a much bigger fan of Greenleigh than the dog. I think that might be because Sonoma sees Greenleigh as her minion. There is long-term potential there – one day Greenleigh will be able to reach the counter where Sonoma’s treats reside.
Leeease: Please. We are working on manners and getting her to say please when she wants something. She “forgets” a lot.
Lee-Lee: This is her nickname for herself. It is imperative that she speak in the third person. All. The. Time. I’m pretty sure Elmo is to blame here. I hate that little red ball of fur sometimes.
Moooo: Move. If you are in a place where she wants to sit/stand, she lets you know it. It is most commonly used in this context: “Moooo kid-kat, Moooo” when she finds Sonoma in her room. Again, Sonoma is focused on long-term potential.
Nilk: Milk. The first thing Greenleigh asks for in the morning after doing her morning roll call. Hell hath no fury like my toddler when she hasn’t had her morning milk yet.
Showww: Shower/Bath. In comparing notes with other parents, it appears I have the only child who begs to be bathed at the end of the day. I can’t explain it.
Smile: Camera. I suppose I have put her in front of the camera and asked her to smile one to many times because now she thinks that is what it’s actually called. We went through this with phones a while back. She referred to them as “Hellos”, because you typically say “hello” when you pick it up and take a call. Rational conclusion, but wrong.
Uppy: (pronounced up-eee.) Pick me up now. Not in a few minutes, now. And carry me for an indeterminate amount of time. Really? You don’t like doing errands with a 28 pound weight on your side? To bad for you.
Uppy-Down: Cash prize to the person who can tell me what this means, ’cause I have absolutely no clue. Hint: It does not mean put me down.
There are tons more, but those are the highlights (hence Volume I).
What words would be in your toddler’s dictionary?
haha i was just reading this and sounds very familiar…although there would need to be a second volume of Noah-ese =) However, if she’s anything like Noah “Uppy-Down” would mean Upside down…as in hang me from my feet or the like…Noah is a big fan of that one. “Up-eye-Down”
uppy-down, upside down? That would be my guess.
I think that at least one of these Greenleighisms has made it into the adult dictionary, because I’m pretty positive that I’ve heard Erajh say “show” for shower on multiple occasions lately ;o)
Aminal – while pointing at a variety of creatures at the zoo.
There were others, however, too many years have passed!
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