Our little guy is clearly a Tarheel. For any of you who have been to North Carolina, you know that the greeting of choice is the three-syllable “hey”. It comes out something like “hay-e-ay”. Live there for a while and you’ll find yourself saying it no matter how much you promise you won’t.
Well, Simon is just dying to talk to us, and this is one of his favorite “words” at the moment. We first heard it Monday night. I was settled into bed when Matt summoned me into the nursery with a “I think Mom needs to get in here.” So Mom reluctantly got out of the warm bed to see what Ole Stinkpot was up to. And there he was, smiling on his changing table and saying “hey” over and over again while Matt repeated it to him. He’d smile a huge, gummy smile after each “hey”, and Matt praised him effusively. I looked on and melted.
Last night we were treated to a command performance. This time Simon didn’t get out as many “hey”s, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. While Matt would look at Simon and say “hey”, Simon would study his face intently and repeat back something like “ha”, “hu”, or “ay”. At one point, Simon sucked in so much air from trying to make a “h” sound that he gave himself the hiccups. It was adorable. Until the hiccups arrived, he was all smiles during this talking session, too.
Moments like this are fascinating and a joy. Who knew babies could be so interesting?