Speaking in crabtongues
As I made clear when Daddy Underground eschewed the cute-ification of words, I go the opposite way: I baby-talk often. To adults too.
Like all tots, Crabtot enjoys revamping ordinary nouns. A bottom to her has always been a "bobbin." And now that she knows the body part is more widely known as "bottom," we try to correct her back to "bobbin." Which is what we call it.
By now, many Tot words have become part of our Crabfam lingo. For example, early on in her vocab, the word "more" was "moy." So we say "moy" all the time now. "Moy wine, Crabhubby?" "Do we need to get moy dishsoap?" And how much better is Tot's catch-all term "foonts" for a spoon or a fork! Surely that's a worthy addition to any dictionary, meaning "I need something—spoon, fork, whatever—to eat with."
Yes, cuteness governs the way I choose to speak. And act. How cute is a child with a delicious fat bobbin? Too cute indeed. So I often choose to "eat" this bobbin. For this I don't need a foonts. But Tot has this odd habit of making me spit out the imaginary bobbin. She doesn't mind if I "eat" it so long as I subsequently regurgitate it and "give it back." If I won't, she goes nuts. As for her own imaginary eating, Tot has invented a delicious food called "goomins." When playing shop, " restaurant," or just generally in need of a treat, goomins suddenly appear in her hands. If you're lucky, you might get offered some too.
A final sample of Crabhouse snacking options: I enjoy taking Tot's toes and having a nibble. Especially plump are the big toes, or as Tot calls them, "toe thumbs." Yum!
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