Selective Hearing

Interpretive license is needed to be a parent. It sounds crazy to think that babies have different cries, but one can really tell the difference after only a few weeks. (Rather than the non-parent interpretation of "annoying" : ) Hugh's first words are really coming together but sometimes it might just be hopeful parents as much as it is vocabulary. Ball, door, and car, along with a few other words, are all legit. He says them on sight and doesn't mix that word with something else. His "car" would pass for a Bostonian any day, such as "Where's my caaa?"

Some words you have to be around him to really know what he's saying. Ducks say "quack quack" but sound more like "kac kac" and shoes sound a little like "czyoo." He says "awww" when something he's holding drops, which is quite cute too, though I don't know if he's really sad that it dropped or just sounds that way. The most fun comes from random babbling when it really does sound like he put the right syllables together. Back in December my dad and I swear we heard him say "turtle" when looking at a stuffed turtle (cotton, not taxidermy), but it has not been repeated since. At dinner this week Jess gave Hugh his own pon de queso (cheese bread) ball to which he replied, I kid you not, "oh yeah!" We both cracked up, and I'm still not really sure if he meant it.

More recently he is starting to repeat words he has heard, even phrases. Half the syllables are skipped of course, but you can tell he's trying. It's fun to hear just the right things, even if I'm being biased : )