This post is dedicated to Sister, who told me that the standard age by which kids are supposed to say a few words is 18 months, not 12 months. This explains why the tipat chalav nurse and doctor only mildly hassled me about talking at BY's 12-month checkup.
However, last night, BY not only said an undeniable word (which he's done since my post of December 9th, namely "ah" for "mezuzah" and "nah-nah" for "night-night"), but he communicated clearly and emphatically.
Behold, BY sitting in his high-chair actually eating some food and drinking some bottle. Behold, BY knocking over his bottle, signaling that he is done with that, thank you very much. Behold, BY waving both hands in the air, which is our sign language for being done. Behold, BY saying "nah-nah," which sounds insane, but the kid consistently gets all happy when I suggest going night-night after dinner. Behold, it's only 4:45. C'mon.
So behold, after a failed attempt to get BY to eat or drink anything else, I sign and say "all-done," which makes BY a happy baby. I pick up BY, who remains happy very briefly. When I don't make any move to take him upstairs, he starts saying "nah-nah" again. I try to deflect. He says "nah-nah" more loudly. I try to stall. He starts to cry.
Well, Husbinator and I look at each other and decide to put him down for the night. After all, this child is clearly exhausted, and it's only half an hour earlier than his earliest reasonable bedtime.
So I ask the crying BY, "Yeah, go night-night?" And behold, BY immediately breaks into a huge smile and responds, "Nah-nah!" So we wish Abba night-night, and I take BY upstairs and put him to bed, and he falls asleep. Crazy kid.
