‘Y’ Pearl is so precious

(Or, ‘Precious Pearl-isms, Pt. 2’)

In Pearl’s language, the letter L sounds like the letter Y (‘and sometimes W’), yielding many adorable utterances, such as:

“How do my yook?” – posing in her new-to-her dress, hands on hips

Last week, we camped at “Yake Ontario.”

“Make a heart yine.” – when the kids are crafting and want me to fold paper after paper in half and draw half a heart so they can cut it out, open it up, decorate it, and use too much tape to post it on the refrigerator

At nighttime: “We need to turn on a yight.”

“Mommy, my yuv you!” – flinging her Slim-Jim arms around my neck and holding on for dear life (dear, dear girl)

. . . . .

Another speech impediment she’ll unfortunately outgrow: ’tupid. As in “stupid.” She can’t quite say the “st” sound yet. So when she’s really mad at her brother, she might call him ’tupid. (Unacceptable, I know—but stupid-cute.)

When it’s time to go to bed, we have to head up’tairs.

When it’s time to rise and shine, we go down the ’teps.

When I try to teach her things by repetition and she’s had enough, she says: “’top it, Mommy! ’top saying that!” And she might add: “You’re making my bwain hurt!”

And one of our fave family friend’s is: ’tephy.

P.S. Thanks to A-Town reader “AJ” for posting this partial poem on her Facebook profile. It’s yuv-yee!

i thank You God for most this amazing day:

for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

e.e. cummings (1894–1962)