Learning the Language

Those of you with children will know this, but I want to share an important truth with the rest of you: every family has its own language. Or maybe its own dialect would be more accurate. Every family has its own internal jokes, its own pet names for things, etc. that make absolutely no sense to anyone outside the family. Our family is certainly no exception. We have nicknames for each of the kids, and each child has also contributed new words to the family dialect. I thought I'd share these with you.

Daughter #1
Nickname: Blondie
Now looking at her picture below you may wonder about this, but for the first 2-3 years of her life she was blond headed and the name stuck.

Linguistic Contribution: Taco Banana
For those of you not in South Texas, Taco CAbana is a fast food Mexican restaurant. But 3 year old Kora could not say CAbana, and so now that restaurant is forever more dubbed "Taco Banana" in our house. The true irony here is that Kora cannot stand to eat bananas, doesn't even like to smell them.

Daughter #2
Nickname: Big Red
This one is pretty self-evident from a picture. However, it was actually quite funny when she was barely 5 and on a softball team on which she was the smallest girl. Kinda like calling a sumo wrestler "Tiny."

Linguistic Contribution: Sissie
When she learned to talk she didn't call her older sister by her name, but called her "Sissie." And every since, the older sisters are always called sissie, at least for a few years. Our youngest has modified this linguistic tradition slightly. She only calls her next older sister "Sissie." I guess 4 "Sissies" were just too much for her.

Daughter #3
Nickname: Bear, B-Bear
This came about because she was such a cuddly baby that it was like always having a teddy bear to hold. And she's still like that at 5.5.

Linguistic Contribution: Chip Choc Cookie Dough
My husband's favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate chip cookie dough (from Blue Bell of course). But 2 and 3 year old Brynna couldn't say that mouthful, so chip choc cookie dough it was. And actually, I left a message for my husband to pick up some "chip choc cookie dough" on his way home from work just last week.

Daughter #4
Nickname: Hailey Bailey
This one is also pretty obvious, just a rhyme on her name.

Linguistic Contribution: Q-Q-Sauce
Again, when Hailey was 2 or 3 she couldn't say barbeque sauce, so she always asked for "Q-Q-Sauce." And no matter what KC Masterpiece says, we have Q-Q-Sauce in our fridge right now.

Daughter #5
Nickname: Actually we're still working on this one
She is blond but we already have a blondie. Ornery and Monkey get thrown around quite a bit - those of you who know her understand. Her sisters call her cutie. So we'll have to see about this one.

Linguistic contribution: Mein Kup
Since she's barely 2, I'm sure she has still more to add. And no, she is not a Marxist or a Communist, but no one be alarmed if they hear cries on "mine cup" coming from the kitchen in our house. She could easily pass for a German child though with her blond hair, blue eyes, and of course, "mein kup."

So now you will be able to interpret if you come to our house and hear us or our children asking if sissie has mein kup, if they have q-q-sauce at Taco Banana, and if we can have chip choc cookie dough for dessert.

So what unique names does your family have for things?