Lainey Speak

Just for posterity's sake... I want to someday 

look back at this post and laugh. 

Some examples of "Lainey Speak":

• "Mommy, I've been awake for two times (or 3 times, 5 times, etc.)."
• "Let's play Mama/Sister."
• "Let's play school."
• "I look so cute."
• Lainey: "I think I'm a little bit jealous." Me: "Why?" Lainey: "Because his shirt and shorts don't match." Me: "Walker's shirt and shorts?" Lainey: "Yes." Me: "I'm not sure "jealous" is the right word...maybe "concerned" would be a better word." Lainey: "I'm a little bit concerned." :)
• When asking how long she'd like to play before lunch/dinner/bath/bed/etc. so I can set the timer for that length of time, she says, "Seven minutes. No. Four minutes." (I don't have the heart to tell her that four is actually less than seven. She'll figure it out soon enough. I think!)
• "Reagan's eyebrows look worried. She must be worried about me."
• "Do I look mad?" (She says this while stomping and wearing a grumpy face.)
• "Why?" (Not like, "Why is the sky blue?" but more as a response to something I ask her to do... Like if I ask her to stand up in the bathtub because it's time to get out, she'll ask, "Why?"
• "God goes from earth to Heaven in a space ship."
• "Let's play two things in my head." (Translation: "Let's play 20 Questions.")
• "Mommy, do you hear my clucks?" ("Clucks" are the sounds that her (plastic) high heels make as she walks on the hardwood floors.)
• When doing the Hokey Pokey with her Ariel Barbie doll, she told Ariel to "put your right booby in, put your right booby out, put your right booby in and booby it all about." (HA!)
• "I'm just gonna use your phone to do some work. For just one minute."
• "It's okay, Walker. We still love you." (When he does something that he shouldn't...like feed the dog.)
• "I think I went a little wee wee in my pants. Just one - no two - drops."
• Ice cream - at her wood chip ice cream stand at the park - costs "ten monies."
• She asks to do things for "some minutes."
• She loves "girl stuff" (as in, toys for girls) and always asks to go to stores that have "girl stuff" and if we're in a store, like Target, she wants to go look at the "girl stuff." Thankfully, we're also allowed to let Walker look at "boy stuff."
• She's started using the phrases "just kidding" and "...or something?" as in, "Let's go take a walk or something." 
• She's trying to make sense of her day. She always asks what meal we're having...whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I think she literally thinks that her days are split by her naps. Each time she wakes up, it's a new day. ;)
• Dora is beginning to frustrate Lainey. Dora will ask a question, and Lainey almost ALWAYS answers her, yet sometimes Dora's wait time is a bit long so Lainey gets frustrated and will say, "Dora, I said __________" or "I know, Dora!" Sass, I tell ya.
• She has a lot of fun with rhyming words and finding/creating patterns.
• Current favorite songs: "Lollipop," "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," and "Down By the Bay." (She loves saying how the rhymes in "Down By the Bay"- like "a bear combing his hair" - are "so silly" or "super duper funny.") She has also started listening to song lyrics...sometimes questioning what something means or why the person singing said what he/she said.
• She enjoys telling secrets. Yet her secrets don't contain any words! She just cups her hands around her mouth and gets close to your ear and then pulls away after about two seconds. And that's that. :)
• She fixates on red lights and the fact that I run them all the time. She has yet to understand that a) one can take a right turn when there's a red light and b) the traffic signal that I see isn't necessarily the one that she sees. :) So she argues with me about how often I run red lights!

And, yes, my sweet girl can be a bit of a sasspot. As soon as she becomes sassy (or whiny, because that happens a lot, too) we first discuss the attitude. Then correct her words and strategize about what she can say "next time." Finally, she apologizes. And...repeat.

• She'll openly announce that things are "boring" her and "not fair." (I don't think she fully knows the meaning of "boring" but it makes me laugh to hear her say that.)
• If I ask her to do something, she'll retort, "Ooookaaaay...whatever you say." (Sheesh. Yes, you will do whatever I say but not while using that tone of voice! Haha.)
• She has told me to "take all that brown out of your hair because I don't like it." (She's referring to to the lowlights that are mixed in with the highlights in my hair.) Thanks, girl. :)

And...as of August 2011, Lainey is sleeping without the aid of a pull-up. Underwear only! And she'll tell everyone: the receptionist at the gym, the random woman who doesn't speak fabulous English that we occasionally see at the park...you get the idea. She has had one major accident (she slept right through it) and was a little gun-shy afterwards, but I think she's feeling confident again.