Favorite Almost Words

We have had a lot of conversations in our house about how to deal with language. We have chosen to go the each one speak one route with Richard speaking to Peanut in English (mostly...) and me speaking to her in Spanish (mostly...). Because the rest of the world here talks to her in Spanish, it is definitely her default option, but she understands a lot of English and pulls out things sometimes that just surprises the heck out of both of us. There is a lot more to be said about language issues, but for now we will stick with a quick list of my favorite Peanut almost words. Or better said, the words Peanut uses to stand in for the words she means until she can get her mouth adjusted a little bit more.

1. Bi-bo (or possibly Bee-beaux, I have never asked) - this comes from Spanish "ombligo" or belly button. When Peanut first discovered her bi-bo she would lift up her shirt every couple of minutes to look at it - perhaps checking to see if it was still there. Then she discovered that other people had bi-bos too, and...well, just keep your shirt tucked in when you visit. I must admit that I love this word so much that I have almost stopped saying ombligo just so it will stick around. Quite frankly I could be happy if we called it bi-bo for the rest of our lives, and even if Peanut does not, I just might. Damn the language stickler gods!

2. Balita - this comes from Spanish "abuelita" or grandmother. It is the name for my mom, and while she could not say it at all for a while, now Peanut yells it out with gusto. In fact, I should probably have spelled it Ba-LEEE-Tah! Mom tried really hard for a while to be "Lita", but as with most facing down Peanut's astounding ability to say one's name over and over and over and over again, she gave in. Balita it is.

3. Cacago - this is meant to be Chicago. Marylen gave her a book called "Good Night Chicago" (part of her PR campaigning), and Peanut loves it. I like the book having lived in Chicago, but it did not strike me as a particularly easy book to identify with otherwise, and yet Peanut asks for it regularly. She even noted that the little girl outside the water tower was also reading "Cacago." Color me impressed.

This is another Cacago book from Marylen (campaigning...).  Peanut opened up to this page and said "PIZZA!" It doesn't take long.

4. Bubby-bee - Bumblebee, obviously. This stemmed from the song "I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee" which Balita taught her, but it now goes with eating ware provided by Marylen too. Wait, maybe this post should have been about stuff Marylen gave me...

I think there are actually a lot more that belong on this list, but they have become so "normal" that I don't even realize they aren't right anymore. Boy communicating in the US this fall is going to be fun... ;)