Bobomops and More

My boys have come up with some vocabulary words of their own making. The funny thing to me about these words is how consistent the boys are in their usage. Todd and Ryan have about five different types of invisible characters that they play with or refer to in conversation.

The most common of these are the "Bobomops". Bobomops most often seem to be Todd's children. Todd might have thirty-two of them in his room at a time (can you imagine having that many children to take care of?!?). He'll let them come into bed with him at night (they must be pretty small!) and might sing to them. In general, I think he takes pretty good care of his bobomops.

Somtimes bobomops are Ryan's children as well. Often they are Ryan's scapegoats. For example, I might ask "Who spilled the water on the floor?" Ryan might answer, "I don't know. I think my bobomops did it." Or "Ryan, where is my pencil that I saw you playing with?" Ryan's answer might be, "I don't know. I think my bobomops hid it."

I tried to get the boys to give me definitions of their words. Ryan had a hard time giving me a straight answer:
Becca: Ryan, what are bobomops?
Ryan: Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy, cheesy.
Becca: I mean, what are they?
Ryan: Bobomops are food.
Becca: I thought they were your children.
Ryan: My children are in jail because they are bad people, 'cause they said, "You forgot to say that word." So I put them in jail. No, my bobomops, they didn't say "You forgot to say that word." They didn't say that.
Becca: Are they boys or girls?
Ryan: They are boys. And I have some bobofets. Now my bobomops are in jail, 'cause they were bad. They're with my children.
Becca: What are etries?
Ryan: Etries are on Buzz Lightyear.
Becca: They are?
Ryan: Yeah.
Becca: What are colorbillies?
Ryan: Maddie said that. I don't know what colorbillies are. They have colors, and they belong in paintball.

Todd was a little more cooperative. He gave me some staight answers. However, I know that the definitions can change a bit from day to day according to what they are playing.
Becca: Todd, what are bobomops?
Todd: They are...um...the kids. My kids. Actually, the bobomops are my kids.
Becca: What are dodomops?
Todd: They are my dinosaurs.
Becca: What are bobofets?
Todd: My bobofets are...um...my helpers.
Becca: What are etries?
Todd: Etries, they are just little animals. The etries are green. The colorbillies are the same, just with more colors. They are black and red. The colorbillies live in my house. They are all kind of colors.
Becca: Are they good or bad?
Todd: Good, but we play games with them. On the games we pretend they are bad, but they're mostly good. On the games they listen to me.
Becca: Ryan said the etries were on Buzz Lightyear.
Todd: But my etries are not on Buzz Lightyear.
Ryan: Mine are at Virginia.
Todd: Will they move with Uncle Mark?
Ryan: They'll move in Grandma Donna's house.

Watch out Mom! If, in fact, the etries are the same as colorbillies, then you're in for some tough work. From what I gather watching Todd and Ryan (and Maddie), it might take some running around the house squealing and waving a sword or light saber (and squealing some more) to put those colorbillies (or the lesser-seen etries) in their place!