ruh roh

as most lil’ ones approaching their second birthday, lulu is developing a dense vocabulary. it’s pretty spectacular to hear her craft strings of words to articulate what she sees/hears/feels/thinks.

ry carefully selects words to help lu’s understanding of syntax and word-choice by using “emulsify” and “locate”. good dad.

my newest contribution to her language acquisition: “dammit.”

what might be scariest is her ability to determine when to appropriately insert the word.

spilled cheerios? “dammit.”

computer froze while playing your favorite song? “dammit.”

dropped a piece of pizza and now the dogs are chomping at the bits to get to it? “dammit.”

mmmhmm. my child uses the word “dammit” and quite accurately. now, before your panties become bunched, let me elaborate on what is true of this current situation:

• we are not a foul-mouthed family. ry rarely mutters “words of choice” & i believed the same to be true of myself…until lu acquired this unfortunate vocab word while her father was away @ a conference [whoops].
• seems to be that this word finds its way into my language in two circumstances. the first would be when i’m cleaning stella’s muddy paws. she always escapes me with one paw remaining. so – naturally, unconsciously – i say, “dammit. come here.” lu initially attached “come here” onto her “dammit”, but that is now done infrequently. i also use the d-word word when i misplace items. such was the case on saturday when i couldn’t find my keys after loading lu into the car. i said it. she said it back to me. and so it began. [whoops #2].
• lu’s use of the word is not condoned. i shamelessly chuckle [and shield my face while doing so] when i hear it leave her mouth because she says it with meaning – not to provoke laughter from an audience, but…well…something frustrating occurred. we are currently attempting to curtail “dammit” by helping her to know it is not a good word and shouldn’t be said. she’s also learning to replace it with “darn it.”

while the dreaded d-word still circulates in lu’s vocabulary, i’m trying to be more mindful of how i verbally express myself [especially in my interactions with stella]. and for you, i’d recommend the same. these little sponges take everything in.

before the post ends and i gaze out my dining room windows to see that autumn has found its way to upstate, i’ll share some photos of lulu cozying up in her new poncho. talk soon!