November 26, 2000 - Sunday
A couple of days ago Harry started saying "cat." His version is loud with a heavy emphasis on the hard "c" sound at the beginning, though an audible "t" as well. But, unlike his occasionally random use of "dad," Harry seems to most often use this new word in the direction of Paavo, our cat. It makes some sense that Harry would identify the cat early: he's always taken a gleeful interest in the cat and, since the return from his walkabout, Paavo has been more than generous with his tolerance of Harry's advances.

Of course, Harry sometimes does practice his new word when Paavo is nowhere to be seem, but this evening he made quite a striking link. I was reading "Curious George Takes a Job" a got to a page on which a cat appears as insubstantial visual filler. Harry, nonetheless, pointed right at the cat at the bottom of the page and proclaimed "cat, cat, cat" just as if it were Paavo. It sure seems like he knew, and was quite ademate about it, but it's a remarkable leap since the cartoon cat bears only a mildly similar appearance to the real thing. What a clever boy!


Comments, opinions?