October 22, 2000 - Sunday
Last weekend Harry started saying "dad" and it was, admittedly, rather exciting. But hopeful as I may have been, I wasn't entirely convinced Harry actually had made the 'he's my dad,' Helen Keller language link. The combination of pointing, a newly learned skill, and saying "dad," an easy syllable to babble, had plenty of coincidence associated with it and could likely have been simply random vocalizing. However, this morning when I first walked in to his room, I found him awake, sitting in his crib playing with a stuffed animal. As soon as he saw me he stopped, looked at me and said with a smile "dad" - nothing else, no babble, just "dad." I, of course, told him with glee that he was absolutely right and that I was his dad and we both seemed to enjoy the moment. In fact, for the last week, Harry has been pointing and saying "dad" as if it were a given and I've been praising him for his new understanding.

Yet, as impatient as we may be for Harry's first words, and as charming as it is that "dad" may be among them, learning language is apparently more complicated than a glorious breakthrough moment. Rather than actually understanding that I am his dad, Harry may well be responding to the fact that he all this gets praise and attention whenever he says the syllable. And, he probably says it to me because I'm the one who always gets most excited when he does. I'm sure he says dad, da da, or daddum when I'm not there, too, but without the positive response. When he truly turns the corner from just getting a rise out of his dad with a simple syllable of babble and actually putting a definition to it is the real mystery, but it's clear Harry is on his way. And, being the focal point for the transition is just fine with me.


Comments, opinions?