"Mommy! Daddy! Ayi!"

Last week, the landmark "FIRST WORDS" occurred for Carson. His first word was really "bobby", meaning "potty." (Yes, he says "potty", he knows what and where the potty is, and he knows what's supposed to go in there, but he has yet to get it in there. Give it time, give it time.) But I made sure that his second word was "Mommy." And in the days following, I helped Austin's feelings by focusing on "Daddy" next.

A couple days later, our ayi, or nanny, was here while we were getting ready to leave for school. Carson was by the couch playing with the buttons on her jacket while she was in the kitchen. I heard him babbling like he usually does, but suddenly realised that he was saying, "aaaaayi! ayiiii!" I asked her, "Is he saying 'ayi'?" and she smiled and nodded.

Now, when he's upset in general, he calls for "mommy!". But when I'm doing something that he doesn't like, he calls "daddy!" And sometimes, just for fun, he calls "ayi!" There's a totally new dynamic to my feelings now when he cries since he can throw a sad, blubbery "mommy" in from time to time. It's that much more cute and yet pathetic at the same time.

In the words of Austin, he is still mostly a "jabbering Ewok"--babbling constantly, making noises that sound an awful lot like real words. And very clearly and energetically at that! He also says "Wowwwwww!" and the common, "Wasat?" sound that toddlers learn so early on--presumably because mama is always saying, "Carson, what's that?" But at last he has some real, certified, repeatable words under his belt. 19 months ain't bad, eh? Where do I sign up for child prodigy status?