08/04/2007

I would not have assessed Nathan's mastery of the English language to be at such a level where he would be inventive with the words in his vocabulary, but obviously my assessment would have been unfair. I fully anticipate hearing Nathan's voice as he echoes words or phrases (last night Nick said to him, "Hey! Cool Dude!" to which he responded "Hey! Cood Dudud!"), but as impressive as I find this parroting to be, nothing could prepare me for the arrival of a completely new word into Nathan's vocabulary:

Nokay.

This welding of the words 'no' and 'okay' is Nathan's way of saying, "no, thanks." I'd never thought to use the expression myself, and I don't believe I've ever heard anyone else say it, either. Honestly, I'm a bit perplexed that my toddler who, as of yet, is unable to recall the cat's name (his best friend), would possess the ability to coin phrases based on the separate meanings of familiar terms. Does this surprise anyone else?

From this point on, I believe the phrase should be deemed commonplace in the McNeil and Jones households.

Grandpa Jones to Nathan: "Nathan, would you like three cookies before dinner?"
Nathan to Grandpa: "Yes!"
Rachel to both of them (with a special glare reserved for Grandpa J. who dared pose this offer): "NOKAY!"