Midwestern Toddler

Oh, my Lord. I knew before moving here that, probably of all four of us, we could count on our innocent little Lyle to end up with the strongest accent and most authentic midwestern ways. After all, he was not even 2 years old when we moved here, so he would spend more of his formative days here than any of us.

I just didn't expect it to come so soon. Over the Christmas break in California, he busted out in his sweet little voice with, "Mommy hold Lyle's hand? Mommy come with?" I almost fell over laughing. For those of you unfamiliar with the midwest, the phrase "come with" takes the place of "come with us/me?" It's a very small linguistic difference that packs a big punch, and is the true mark of a midwesterner. I've heard Lyle's nanny say that to him many times in the past few months and yet it didn't occur to me that he'd pick it up. Now I see the error of my ways!

(By the way, this photo of Lyle was taken by Baxter, using my Dad's professional camera. We think it's way cool.)