Thursday, July 25, 2013

word of the week - manky

Dulcie's language skillz continue to come on apace.  One of the interesting things about her developing speech is that once she learns to say a word, she becomes much more interested in the thing the word represents.  For example, when she learned to say "apple", she suddenly wanted to eat apples all the time.  She's still busting out a fair few new words every day (so much fun!) but one of her more oft repeated words of late is "manky" and, since she learned to say it, all she wants to do is get, well, manky.
She's got to know all the best places with manky-making potential.  When we get near a place with mud or sand or soil or small stones, she will grab your hand and drag you towards the source, shouting, "Manky! Manky! Manky!" with an excited glint in her eye.  This is her in the Botanic Gardens one night last week.  I made sure to keep her away from the immaculate flowers, but nonetheless this behaviour attracted a few horrified looks from passers by.
She was having so much fun though and I think it's better for her to be a hands-on explorer of her surroundings than a clean freak.  There may be a more appropriate middle ground, however!  She was picking up handfuls of soil and literally rubbing them all over her face and clothes.  Thank goodness it was close to bath time.  She left a great tide line in the bath that night!
Here she is rolling around on the ground in protest once I did finally remove her - not the most flattering of photos!

I'm so glad these cute shorts came clean in the wash.

I'm trying to get some good video footage of Dulcie saying some of her (or some of my) favourite words.  I'm working on "manky monkey" as a phrase, but no joy yet. These two words are so cute when she says them, so as a combo should be mind-blowing.  I'll keep at it.

10 comments:

  1. She is adorable! The last two photos are by far my favorites. The Manky Monster in the one where she is standing up is making my Thursday! P.s. I bought the same shorts (H&M?) for my daughter:)

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    1. Thanks, Jill :) I don't think Dulcie's dad was too pleased that I shared the last photo, so I'm glad someone else appreciated it! Yes, the shorts are from H&M, although they were a gift from Dulcie's auntie. I thought they looked too small when I saw them, but I ended up having to take them in at the waist because they kept falling down. I say "take them in" as if I tailored them. Actually, I just did a couple of stitches at each side in glaringly obvious red thread as it was the closest colour I had to hand. It worked though!

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  2. I think Manky used to be a favourite word of mine when I was young. I thought no one else knew it so I said it all of the time, everything was 'manky'!

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    1. It's a great word! I can totally see why Dulcie loves it so much :)

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  3. Dulcie takes "manky" to a new level! Brilliant and also very good for her immune system. Kirsty nearly 13 and still "manky" has hardly had a day of school much to her annoyance!

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  4. She does look like shes having a great time in that mud! Good for her, that what gardens are for, fun! safxxx

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    1. Today's manky escapade was scooping up mud from around a bin, though. Possibly a bit less sanitary! :)

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  5. Manky is a great word and a good thing to be. Tara always makes a beeline for the messiest thing she can possibly be doing so they don;t grow out of it. In fact yesterday she was playing in the river and scooping up moss off the bottom to make a big pile so she could sit on it!

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    1. Dulcie's absolute favourite source for mank is in a squelchy pot of mossy soil in the carnivorous plants greenhouse in the Botanic Gardens. If you're ever planning a holiday in Glasgow, let me know and we'll point Tara in the right direction!

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