The Uh Oh Kid

We had this conversation yesterday:

Cole: What's that? (points at a light)
Dad: It's a light.
C: What's that? (still pointing at light)
D: Light.
C: Ooo...what's that?
D: Light.
C: What's that?
D: That is a light.
C: Wow...(looks around the room, gaze eventually returning to same light)...What's that?
D: Still a light.

We engage in very similar discourse several times a day. Often the subject is some sort of light, but other favorite topics include doors, boxes, cats, and your own bellybutton (which, incidentally, you absolutely cannot get enough of). Clearly, you're a curious sort.

Watching you figure out the complexities of speech is pretty fascinating stuff. Your first word (though it may not appear in Webster's) was "uh oh". Which, for a time, was the only thing you would say, repeating it over and over - to the extent that the kids at daycare would greet you each morning with a ringing chorus of "uh oh uh oh uh oh uh oh". You would, of course, respond in kind. The teachers called you "The Uh Oh Kid". Incidentally: in the event that one day you choose to become a costumed crimefighter, you may want to consider resurrecting this moniker. I picture a bunch of goons catching a glimpse of your red UO logo and muttering in dismay, "Uh oh, it's him!"Then you would rain uh oh's and boo-boos down upon your enemies. Oh, and also vengeance.

"Uh oh" still makes an appearance now and then, but it's been supplanted by "what's that?" as your most commonly-uttered phrase. This is probably for the best. The "uh oh" blitz may have given an observer the impression that you had either caused or been victimized by some sort of hardship. Which was rarely if ever actually the case.

Your current vocabulary also includes the following:

Abodee/abodah: okay, so these aren't really words. Not in the traditional sense. But you've been repeating them since you began stringing syllables together. If I say "abodee" to you, you'll respond in kind, and then launch into several minutes of unabated babbling. While I'm not certain what these "words" mean (if anything), I theorize that they're purely conceptual, a green light to begin waxing philosophically on whatever subject you feel like discussing. I suspect you're usually talking about your bellybutton.

All gone: sounds a bit like "ahga" but we know what you're getting it. Your usage is a bit inconsistent, in that when you say "all gone" there generally isn't anything that's technically all gone. I suppose it's simply fun to say.

Cookie: there was a period of about an hour when "cookie" was your favorite word. This immediately followed your introduction to animal crackers. After that episode, I don't think you've said this word more than once or twice. However, your love of cookies remains.

Elmo: actually sounds more like "Elma". Elmo usually refers to the Sesame Street character, who you can readily identify on screen, in pictures, or in cracker form. But you've also been known to associate other items with "Elma" - cats, cartoon characters, photos of yourself.

Hi/Bye: At this point in your life, you're not a particularly good greeter. Sometimes you'll say "hi" to a cat, but rarely to an actual person. You may be getting the hang of "bye" though. In the past few days, you've used it appropriately several times. Color me impressed.

Mama: there's a school of thought that maintains this was actually your first word. For months, when upset, you would yell out "mamamamamamamamama!" But you never appeared to refer to Mama herself (and to this day, we're not sure if you have ever actually referred to her by name).

As your vocabulary expands, I'll chronicle it here. I'll stop when you've learned all the words I used in this post.