Felipe-isms

Jon Felipe is using lots of English now and most of his conversation at home is a combination of English and Spanish. We still enjoy practicing our Spanish together, though. I usually say the word in Spanish and he tells me the meaning in English. He thinks this is a great game. In his class the other day, the teacher was reading a book that had some Spanish words and she asked the class if anyone knew what the word "rojo" meant. He responded immediately with "red." He never talks in class so everyone was doubly impressed. He was so pleased with his contribution and the positive class reaction, that he came home and told me all about it at great length.

He has also picked up some favorite English words and phrases. He seems to like how certain words sound and he says them often. A big favorite for the past couple months has been "Hallelujah." If anyone shares anything interesting or good that happened to them during the day, this is his usual response. Another word he particularly likes is "Hosanna." Instead of saying "No way Jose" he says "No way Hosanna." He has a friend named Jamaica and likes to say that word too (or maybe he just has a crush on Jamaica :-) His new favorite phrase to say when things don't go his way is, "Shoot a pickle." I have no idea where he picked that up, but it makes us smile every time he says it.

Another Felipe-ism is to say that something has been "Feliped." This isn't something Jon Felipe says, but something he does. He is so curious about everything and has to check everything out, but he's not terribly gentle or cautious and things just don't always survive his scrutiny. Having only one hand that works well doesn't help either. So, if something in our house breaks or gets destroyed under mysterious circumstances, we say it has been Feliped. If you ask him, he always admits to the deed and sincerely says "sorry," but that doesn't necessarily stop him from checking out the next interesting thing he comes across.