To Remember

Mom used to keep our baby books on the book shelf in the basement. We would open them every so often just to see ourselves as littler kids. We all giggled at each other's first words and memorable phrases that mom recorded in our books. Those were treasures for us as kids, I think as much as they were treasures for our mom to remember us.

I often remind other moms to "write that down" when they tell clever, charming, silly, or otherwise notable kidisms, and I am often reminded to write stories down myself by other moms.

My friend Terri and I were chatting one day about cute kid words and sayings and she told me how she was a little sad when her daughter finally gave up her last baby word and called a caterpillar a caterpillar, instead of a "callerpitter."

So to remember, here are two Nicco words:

• Bop (lawnmower)
• guv (as in "I guv Daddy a hug and a kiss")

I think a small piece of me will mourn my baby when he finally calls a lawnmower a lawnmower and when he uses the correct past tense form of the verb "to give."