First Words

I wonder what my first words were, what nuggets of wisdom I had to spew forth on whomever happened to be near me at the time. Maybe "mamma," or "dadda," or "hamburger," or an enthusiastic "Go Leafs Go!" ... something of obvious yet great significance.

My mind wandered to this topic that I rarely think about because there may have been a slight possibility that Stacey and I heard Kaitlyn utter her first verbal discourse. Of course, we have happily been subject to the regular gutteral noises that babies generate from the very depths of their being. But, tonight was different. This seemed a little more clear, a bit more precise, and very well annunciated.

To fully appreciate the beauty of Kaitlyn's latest milestone, you need some background. Kaitlyn has this ritual that she follows religiously every night as she gets closer to bed time. We've been told this is a comforting mechanism that some babies naturally adopt to help them fall asleep easier. Still, it's crazy funny!

With the greatest of ease, Kaitlyn bolts her right arm straight up in the air in a way that would make Hitler jealous. She then cocks her head in the same direction, slightly upward and to the right, so it is resting ever so gently in the crook of her own shoulder. Then, the fun begins. Her mouth drops wide open - big enough to drive a bus through it - her tongue slithers out as if she's about to catch flies with it, and then she starts making this wet and slightly nauseating sound by rubbing her cheek against the little bit of tongue that happens to be left in her mouth. It's like she's chewing her cud. Depending on what kind of mood she's in, this ritual can last anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes, all the while, arms in the air, mouth open, and tongue out. Stacey and I have affectionately dubbed this, "The Hickey."

Let's just say that if Kaitlyn were to rub up against your face and turn on her facial vacuum, you would be going home with a few broken blood vessels you didn't come with. Welcome to "The Hickey." Live performances at around 7:30 every night.

Tonight, we were playing with Kaitlyn on the couch when she started showing signs of getting tired. She was rubbing her eyes, scratching her ears, and physically slowing down. When we held her up, she would smile but most of her body would fall limp and hang motionless in the air. She was getting tired; we knew "The Hickey" wasn't too far behind.

Ya see, we get big laughs because of "The Hickey." Kaitlyn couldn't be more serious when she performs "The Hickey." She's tired and she'll do whatever it takes to fall asleep. What we didn't anticipate this early was the possibility of Kaitlyn waking up enough to repeat our pet name for her ritual. That's right, there is a slight possibility her first word was in fact, "Hickey." It would have been one thing had she said this only once. But alas, she repeated it ... a number of times. Do your best to imagine a little one year old Chinese girl soon to be running around, arms straight up in the air, shouting to everyone in her path, "HICKEY ... HICKEY ... HICKEY!" Stacey and I will be close behind making sure that everyone understands how big a fan Kaitlyn is of hOckey. Score one for mom and dad on that one!

Perhaps I lost something in the Chinese to English translation, I don't know. I thought it sounded like "Hickey." For some reason, Stacey mildly disagrees ... hmm. Either way, I'm guessing it will be soon enough before more words are freely flowing from her, words that are more characteristic of babies, words that we can actually use in intelligent conversation with her. Like I said, that will be soon enough. For now, we'll enjoy the groans and the grunts that make us wonder if she's doing more than just trying to talk, if you know what I mean.

But until then, "All Hail The Hickey!"