March 17, 2001 - Saturday
Harry had the classic breakthrough with water tonight at dinner. Still referring to most objects as "dat, dat," or often now "my, my," Harry began to call for a beverage between strands of spaghetti. Since he had his sippy cup of milk right here on his tray, I assumed he must have been calling for his mother's glass of water, not an infrequent occurrence. So, I held both them both up and asked which he wanted, "milk" lifting the sippy cup, or "water," holding up the glass. Harry paused. I asked again with the same deliberateness.

It is really so much fun to be able to see the sparks flying and know that Harry is learning something on the spot. He got his serious look, with a little of his father's furrowed brow, then worked his little mouth into a clear "wahdu," then "wah-wah," then "wah-tah" again. It was happening right then, he was letting self-awareness slide for a moment and learning there in front of us. Naturally, his mother and I were thrilled and told him so. We're not sure which version (wah-wah or wahta) he was settling on, but for tonight it hardly mattered. He'll perfect it over time. For now, Harry was moving on to the next thing, grabbing the water glass and drinking from it by himself. We've let him drink for our glasses before, but always holding them for him. This time Harry was seemingly ready to go it alone. It was another big thrill, but I still couldn't help but spot him a little bit.


Comments, opinions?