What's that word again?

With our editorial roots, Scott and I might correct Will's language a bit more than your average parents. We don't stand for "broked" toys around here.

Of course, there are a few slight misses that are too cute to correct. My favorite recent example was when we were headed to the water park last weekend and Will called the "hotel" the "show-and-tell." How cute is that?

Will also misses his "L"s on most words. "Legs" become "eggs" and "I love you" comes out "I uv you." When he's counting and hits "eleven," you feel like you just hit a bumpy road in a car without shocks.

Scott and I haven't been too worried about the lack of "L"s. Many of my cousins and my brother had similar speech patterns ... some of which are remembered with great fondness by the adults in my family:

My cousin Rona saying, "There's a cah (car) coming around the cuhve (curve)."

My brother Jim, embarrassed about his inability to say "R's," avoided saying "girls" and instead asked his Kindergarten teacher why the "women" always got dismissed for the bathroom first.

Of course, Scott and I will never forget the time little Chad thought my mom had gone completely crazy at a McDonald's when she repeatedly asked him what he had for lunch:

Mom: "Chad, tell Jana and Scott what you had for lunch."
Chad: "A hambuhguh"
Mom: giggle "Was it a hamburger or a chicken nuggets?"
Chad: "A hambuhguh"
Mom: giggle giggle "Was it a hamburger or a cheesburger?"
Chad: "A hambuhguh!!!" (insert irritated look at crazy Aunt Clary here)

Baby talk is cute but my stance has always been that babies and children learn language so fast, we shouldn't dumb it down for them. I'm fairly proud of the fact that Will uses words like "actually" and "incredible" — even if they come out a little funny.

Of course, that doesn't stop Scott and I from taking on Will's speech impediment when it suits us. Scott, after a particularly grueling game of basketball, will tell me how much his "eggs" hurt. When I have something shocking to tell Scott, I'll say, "You won't ba-eeve what happened to me!"

No, we're not in any hurry to rid Will of this last evidence of babyhood ... except perhaps when we're at the Pizza Hut where they have a giant "Pizza Time" clock on the wall.

We pretty much want to drop into a hole in the floor every time Will yells, "Wow! Look at that HUMONGOUS CLOCK!"