The Multipurpose Verb

Being a toddler has tons of perks. Naps after lunch, endless energy, catered meals, free car rides, this list goes on for miles. But it's also gotta be hard to live in their shoes when it comes to not knowing how to express themselves.

Sometimes it takes either a tantrum or a game of 20 (thousand) questions for Mia to get her point across. I can tell by the look on her face that she's frusrated by my occasional lack of understanding. Occasional, as in, several times every day.

So it really makes good sense for her to make up her own words sometimes. It's either make up a pretend word, or fish around with uuhh's and uumm's until both of us get bored. For example: 'bee-gock' can substitute for any noun - think, 'twinkle twinkle little bee-gock.' And 'kiki' is a good alternative for any adjective - so, 'mary had a kiki lamb.'

These songs have actually been sung that way recently by Mia. She should be a recording artist.

But the most used substitution in our house? The verb 'coke'. You didn't know coke was a verb?

I coke you no lies.

The other night we were playing a made up game where Justin or I would ask a question like 'what do you do if you're tired?' The answers were funny because sometimes they'd be right on, and sometimes they'd be right, but expressed in a way that an adult wouldn't neccessarily think of.

"Mia, what do you do if you're scared?" "I go like this:" (eyes wide open, teeth chattering, hands stiff and shaking.)

"What happens when it's light outside?" "It's good morning time!"

"What do you do if your pants are pulled up too high?" (As they were when this question was asked.) "You COKE 'em down!"

Justin and I busted up laughing. Now she uses 'coke' all the time if she can't think of the right verb quick enough. Or, I'm convinced, she knows the correct word to use, but coke is all-purpose, so she uses it instead. I try to look at it and see creativity.

The bad part is, I've caught myself using the word back to her. Instead of asking her to clean up her princess dresses last night, I said "Coke 'em all back in their box." She did exactly as she was told.

I'm thinking if using 'coke' can get her to cooperate better, I'll keep coke-ing it. I'll just coke this word until it's all coked out. Maybe then she'll always coke exactly what I coke her to - when I coke her to.

Isn't it weird when you look at a word so many times, and it starts looking like it's a foreign language or something...I'm so there with coke.

You too?

Well, I'd better coke back to my kiki beegock, now. Have a kiki day!