Now Signe has always been articulate, and usually says pretty much what she means to say. Gunnar, on the other hand, just turned 3 but has already provided us with years of verbal entertainment. Here I am going to attempt to record as many "Gunnarisms" as I can recall right now. If you remember any I have forgotten, let me know and I can add on.
-When he was about 16 months, Gunnar answered absolutely everything in the affirmative. It was glorious. The child didn't seem to know the word "no"! Nick: "Gunnar, do you have a bomb in your pants?" Gunnar: "Yesh."
-"Nigne". It was a sad day for me when he finally managed to address his sister as "Signe". I miss Nigne.
-Last spring when he was 1 turning 2, he referred to a number of animals by their sounds, not their names. We would drive by a pasture, and he would yell "Yook (look), neighs!" (or moos, tweet-tweets, quack-quacks, etc.). As the weather warmed up he woke up crying repeatedly at the unearthly hour of 4:30 am. "Tweet-tweets youd (loud)! Tweet-tweets scrary." That is when we started putting a fan in their room to create some white noise to block out the birds.
-Last Christmas when he was 2, the kids were helping us decorate the tree. Gunnar had an ornament in each hand and a perplexed look on his face. "These ones don't have parking spaces, Daddy!"
-He loves to use first names for family, like calling Nana Terry and INSISTING on calling Papa Roger. "Daddy, you are Nickeeus and Mommy you are Abbygai" (drop the last "l" sound). He also often says things like, "Mommy, where is Uncle Nick?". Uh, you mean where is Daddy?
-In the car with my Mom, he announced he wanted to sing the song "Jesus has no problems." Nana was a little stumped as to how that song went.
-Also speaking to my mom, he once asked her "Nana, where is your friend?" (referring to Papa).
-My mom's favorite story is from last Christmas in Oregon, when she overheard Gunnar encouraging his cousin to naughty behavior. She walked in on the boys tearing one of her nice children's books, with Gunnar saying "Rip it, Ransom!". My mom reacted in a loud and appalled voice, so Gunnar's solution was "Hide, Ransom!". Luckily they were caught early enough so the damage was easily repaired by tape, and both were the recipients of some corrective discipline. (Gunnar hasn't ripped a book since).
-In the morning, if you ask Gunnar what he dreamed about, he almost always replies that he dreamed about grumpy dinosaurs. Not just any kind of dinosaur, but grumpy dinosaurs. And sometime owyigators. (alligators)
-"BOYS DON'T POTTY TRAIN!!!" Um, yes they do. Your father was a boy once, and I am fairly certain he is potty trained.
-By far, the very best thing to ever come out of that boy's mouth happens when I am blindsided by a squishy hug to the leg, a kiss on the knee, and an "I wuv you, Mommy" before he runs off to play again. A blessing beyond words.