MARK MY WORD: FUDGE, FUDGE, CALL THE JUDGE, BECCA'S SKIPPING ROPE

"Becca's having a baby." Not really, of course. It's just a verse in our 5-year-old daughter's growing repertoire of jump-rope songs.

Besides, this "baby song" doesn't follow any doctor's advice that I know of when it comes to child birth.

"Fudge, fudge, call the judge," Becca gleefully recited as she skipped rope the other day. "Becca's having a baby. What could it be?

"Wrap it up in toilet paper, send it down the elevator. What could it be?

"Boy, girl, twins, triplets," Becca shouted as she jumped rope in the living room.

She ended up with twins when she tripped over the rope.

I never jumped rope much as a kid. I liked fudge, but I wouldn't have thought about calling the judge. I guess skipping rope is more of a girl thing.

At any rate, I never realized that you can't just jump rope. You have to chant too.

"Cinderella dressed in yellow, went upstairs to kiss a fellow. How many doctors did it take, one time she got bit by a snake," Becca chanted. "One, two, three, four, five, six..." she counted as she jumped.

It's OK to sing about Cinderella, but it's best not to jump rope in glass slippers. Even fairy godmothers haven't figured out how to do that yet.

Becca's new love affair with the jump rope has been encouraged by Joni, who recently bought her a new rope with wooden handles.

Becca no longer walks around the house. She jumps, skipping rope even in the bathroom.

The other night, Becca took the rope to bed with her.

Her sister, Bailey, who is nearly 2 years old, is intrigued by all this rope play. She tries jumping too. But she hasn't quite got the hang of it, yet. She skips without moving the rope.

Jump rope is ideal for Becca, who is a constant talker at home. She can carry on a conversation all by herself.

Becca is beginning to read books by herself. Most of it is memorization at this point. Still, the ABC's are no longer just isolated letters to her. She has discovered there are words and sentences.

She wants to know how to spell things. When she learns to spell a word, she eagerly tells us.

Our family conversations increasingly resemble spelling bees. "I can spell flower," Becca will say, and then she will do just that.

But that's fine with us. Joni and I love words. As journalists, we count on words the same way that a carpenter counts on hammers and saws.

From our perspective, words are something to be taken care of even when you're jumping rope.

The great thing about being a parent is that it allows you to see the world the way you once did, but have forgotten all about.

When you're 5, there's an innocence about all those written words. They're wonderful even if you don't know what they mean.

Becca still depends a lot on pictures to give her clues to words in her kindergarten take-home books. But she loves to read, even if it is to her imaginary students.

Bailey has a few years to go before she gets to the reading stage. But she is getting good at talking in short sentences.

Bailey says "yes" a lot. I'm not sure if she really means it or just likes the sound of the word.

As parents, you sometimes feel that you've lost the ability to say that word. "No" has a way of taking over your vocabulary.

But then along comes jump roping, and you forget all about "no," at least until your daughter starts skipping rope in bed or Cinderella has a baby in the elevator.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.