Ian Himself

Ian Himself
Originally uploaded by Ryan Claycomb

So, many (far too many) years ago, we did a Claycomb Twins dictionary. I believe it went out as our Christmas card. It featured such linguistic treasures as "pyuh-twuck holmie" (Fire truck helmet), "ogen" (orange), and "flah-lah" (flower). It may NOT have included Lilah's imperative for "Sit," as in, "Sit, Mommy!" into which she inserted a well-placed "sh" sound. (We'll let readers figure it out.)

Well, before time passes and the moment is gone, here is the same dictionary moment, for Ian. Enjoy.

Bappieball- (n) Basketball. Or soccer ball or volley ball, but not, interestingly enough, any smaller ball. He reserves the term for the larger (and more fascinating) of the species. This fascination was no doubt solidified today, when we went to the WVU Rec Center and a man who was actually playing basketball gave Ian the ball to hold. And Gramps, we are sorry to report that even footballs are called, that's right, bappieballs.

Bi-boy- (n) Big boy. As in, any boy doing something notably cool. Collin. One of Collin’s friends. Ian himself when he is doing something he should not be doing, like standing on his train (see Flickr photo.) Always invoked with either admiration or pride, depending.

Hottie-dog- (n) Hot dog. Not even his favorite food, but so much more fun to say with the added “ee” sound.

Hottler (n) Helicopter. Invariably pronounced with the variant stuttering “H” sound (H-h-h-hottler) to indicate extreme excitement and amazement. That such things exist! That they move and make those sounds! That there are videos of them that we can watch. Over and over and over and over again!

Itty- (n) Ian. Took us a while, but we (or more accurately, his babysitter) deduced that this is what he calls himself. Now previously mysterious phrases like “Itty turn!” and “Itty do!” make so much more sense.

Lacey- (n) The name of Ian’s pet dog. Perhaps you are puzzled here, if you know us well. We do not have a dog. Nor does Ian have a stuffed dog of which he is particularly fond. He does, however, have a sister. When she is pretending to be a dog, she calls herself Lacey. And so does Ian. She enters the room on all fours, barking. He turns. “Lacey!” he calls. Does anyone else think this is weird?

‘Mazing- (adj.) Amazing. Used to describe himself when prompted. Discovered in the Kung Fu Panda 2 trailer (view through link, here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdaMGcOyfjM), with which Ian is obsessed. He thinks the panda is looking right at him and telling him he looks amazing. Well, who wouldn’t like to hear that?

Ready-Go! (V) Imperative verb indicating the start of a race, or a running-away from Mommy, or any time the kid is let outside to walk/run anywhere. Accompanied by a dip of the shoulders to indicate the runner in the blocks, then a lurching up of the shoulders and swing of one arm (for momentum, we presume) as he sets off, wispy blonde hair floating behind him. Fairly cute.