More Than Words

Many months ago I asked my mom what my first word was. She replied, simply, Mama. I shook my head, insisting that Mama  is a sound and not a word, especially at the six months marked in my baby book.  My father then piped in that his first word was, Breakfast.  I'll accept that one.  He still really likes breakfast almost seven decades later.

With all of the baby sounds and cooing that go on around here it would be easy to claim a sound as a first word. Which is why Chris and I set out some parameters as to what qualifies as the big first word.

1. It must be a word not a baby speak sound (i.e. Molly has been saying Hey, Hi, and Heya for months now to get attention - that doesn't count)

2. It can't be an immediate repeat of a sound or word that either one of us has been barking at the baby to get them to repeat, that's mirroring, not talking.

3. It must be in the correct context.

We've been waiting for the first words from these two since Jack started constantly saying Ageee.  I love to repeat Agee to him and my mom is convinced that he's going to think that's my name.*  They've been on the brink of first words for about a month or two now when Bababa, Nananana, Mama and Dada started being regular sounds.

They've also been really good at mirroring what we say.  Which can be problematic, particularly when Chris is driving.  Two weeks ago, Chris was driving and called someone a nasty word.  From the back driver side we heard an emphatic Dicdicdicdicdic.  Molly was thrilled with her new sound.   Since then I've been trying to get her to say Digdigdigdig instead with mixed results.**   It looks like it's time to install one of those limo dividers into the Sexfire.***

Then on June 3rd Molly was up to her usual early evening routine of chasing our cat and crawling around the floor like a maniac.  She caught up to the cat and exclaimed, Kitty Cat!  After several tests and repeats we are confident that this qualifies as her first word, even though most of the time it sounds more like Key Cat.  She's even said it while pointing to pictures in books of cats.  Way to go Molly.

Miss Molly and her Key Cat.  Notice that she's just about to grab his tail.

She's since started saying Daddy and Chris (sounds more like Kiss) regularly to a pink gingham wash cloth and pink soother.  The jury's still out on that one.  

*She has a valid point.  A friend of hers was called "Bus" by his first grandchild.  And guess what, it stuck, all of his grandchildren call him Bus.  

**This worked last year when my three year old niece heard someone on the Big Bang Theory call someone else a bastard, started yelling Bastard at the top of her lungs.  My mom cleverly insisted that they had said  Master.  She started yelling Master instead.

**Our name for our 2001 Sunfire as coined by my brother.