I hit the Mudder Woad

Hello mudder, hello fahder........

You know the song. I know the song. And that's what my little Rayla calls me and her dad. Mudder and Fahder. It is by far one of the cutest things I hear my kids say on a daily basis. Luckily for me, most of the children have spoken some of their letters a little 'off' at times, resulting in the sweetest versions of whatever it is they're trying to say.

Speech impediments are no stranger to this family. From a young age, Katie had difficulties with the sound 'k'  the sound 't' and differentiating between her R's, L's and W's. One summer, before we were even married, I think, we were driving in to Portland and playing the game 'I spy' with things along the drive. It was Katie's turn, and she had the letter W. I remember her looking out the front window and shouting "I got it!! I spy, with my little eye, something that stawts with W." And, so we began......"Is it Washington?" "No." "Is it the window?" "Nope" We went on and on with guesses until it seemed that she really hadn't figured something out and was pulling our chain. So we gave up. "What is it then" We asked. "Silly mom, it's WOAD! We dwive on a woad!" OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!! We nearly wet ourselves laughing so hard. And, before she called Corey 'Dad,' she had some difficulties with his name that always left us giggling. She couldn't say Corey with a 'k' sound. But, she COULD say the sound. So, for a good two years, we practiced constantly with her; "Say, K - K - K - COREY." She would say "K - K - K - TOWEE." Eventually, she got it. But, we don't let her forget. Woad, load, road.....To her, it was all the same thing!

Now, little kids often have issues with "th" and making it sound right. Most of the time, the replacement for 'th' is 'd'. Which is where Mudder and Fahder come in. Only Rayla does this right now, but, Cooper and Katie both did it, too,  when they were toddlers. Mackenzie went straight from 'mama' to "It's awfully nice to see you mother." Articulate child, she is. But, when Rayla calls me Mudder, it's just a blessing to hear. She's got a little bit of a raspy voice (naturally), and when she actually says the word, it's always in an endearing manner. "Mudder, may I please have a snack?" or "I love you, Mudder!" Just wonderful. It's even cuter listening to the twins talk since they got their hair cuts. Somehow, everything seems cuter with their little bob cuts!!

Corey and I attended Cooper's first school conferences. It didn't quite go as we had thought it would. Smart kid, they say. Does well in math, in reading, and in recalling things he's been taught. In fact, he excels significantly for Kindergarten and is above where he needs to be. But, he just doesn't listen to his teachers!! What?!? Could they really mean my sweet, smart, patient, loving little boy? Apparently so, because, the two different teachers we conferenced with both told us the same thing. Lovely. While we were sitting in conferencing with Mrs. Irusta, a teacher who proudly doesn't give in to the devilish behaviors of these testy little critters, Cooper says "Mrs. Irusta, I love you." Now, as sweet as that did sound and may seem, she was quick to say, "Well, buddy, you're too late. I've already told your parents about your awful behavior." Now, it might not have been those exact words, but you get the gist. And, to top it all off, this was the teacher that he cried over having to give a Valentine to, because she had sent him to the "thinking chair" too many times. Obviously, not enough, though, since his report card, AND both his teachers, verify that he's failing in that area. I know I'm not failing in teaching him at home. BUT, there's room for improvement. And, from here on out, this mudder isn't going to let things slide as easily as before. Now, how to convince Corey to lay the law down a little harder on his one and only son......that's another story.