Princess-isms: Version 3.5

Age thee has been, for our family, a bit more challenging than age 2.  Many days I feel like our sweet, little Princess is 3 1/2 going on 13 1/2.  One of the reasons is because of the snarky attitude that occasionally surfaces.   Little Miss Big-for-her-Britches.  "Precocious" was the word that my Grammy dubbed her with at the ripe old age of 1 1/2.  Always perceptive, she must have seen something that the rest of us did not in those early days because she was right.  Attitude or not, we sure love that silly girl.

One of Princess's most recent habits is shortening any she desires into a more free-flowing version.  For example, the other day while taking a bath, she mentioned something about "sham."  I thought she said sand.  "Nooooo, Mommy.  SHAAAAAM.  You know, shampoooooo."  Uh huh.  My mistake.

Tinkle potty has become "tink."  "Hold on, Mom.  I gotta go tink!"
Aunt Ariel is "Arie."
Blanket is often "blank."  "I want to snuggle with my blank."
Lion is "lie."  See how this can start to get confusing?
Smooch's real name (where I think the name-shortening originated) is also shortened to the first few letters only.
And on and on.

At an age where I should be able to more easily understand what my daughter is saying on a regular basis, new interpretation skills are required, as she is always adding new shortened words to her vocabulary.  And the shortened version of some of them (like lion) are actually the same as entirely different words in the English language.

Sometimes I contemplate teaching Princess Spanish.  But I don't think, at least during this phase, that I could handle all the extra interpreting that would necessitate.  "Tort.  Tort.  TORT.  Youuuuuu know, Mom.  Tortuuuuuuga! (turtle)"  No thank you.

And speaking of vocabulary, since this blog largely serves as a record for our family, I think it's appropriate to note some my current favorite (full length) big girl words and phrases that Princess regularly uses.

Realize and recognize, sometimes interchangeably.  "I didn't recognize that the water was all gone!"
Of course.  With dramatic emphasis. "Of course I can help you!"  (very cute by the way.)  Everything is "of course" and "of course not" lately rather than yes and no.
Several.  "I already ate several cheerios, Mom."

I'll have to come back and add some more as I think of them.  I know I'm leaving out some doozies. :-)  Three and a half = a hoot and a half!

Photos by Smile Like You Mean It Photography