"Mama"

Austin started calling me mama when he turned 16 months. I knew this day would come and tried not to take it as a sleight when he said "dada" (all babies say that first) or even when he said "Jeter bad boy," at 12 months. In fact I bragged about that one, because it was impressive that a one year old was using a phrase already. 

I never doubted Austin's affection for me. Although he couldn't say it, it has been clear that my ranking in his life is quite high :)

And now he says mama. He says it mostly when I'm not around. I suspect he is saying it right now to Hayden, because I am away on Haiti for a couple of days. Now that he says mama unfortunately it is a very clear reminder that he knows I'm not around.

Yet, it is another leap in his rapid development. We spent a wonderful week in Asheville and literally saw him growing each day. He is eating with utensils and even insists on it. He suddenly loves the car and to illustrate this point started saying "car" over and over again while trying to climb in. When we tried to deflect his interest by saying we needed the key, he started asking for the "keeey."

This past weekend we had a barbecue with Hayden's peace corps friends. They all have kids around the same age. I noticed that the girls who were older were using cups to drink and I was amazed. So I decided to give it a try with Austin. He very eagerly grabbed the cup and promptly poured water all down the front of him. For an extra measure, he then dumped the cup completely over onto the ground.

Perhaps we're not quite there yet.