our bye-bye baby

Because I work at home, I get to visit my son throughout the day.

When I return to work, I say a loud "BYE-BYE" and wave goodbye to him exaggeratedly. His mother waves his arm for him. He gets very excited by this.

Today, our next-door neighbor, who is gaga for the boy, came over to visit him before his lunch. As she left I turned his high chair toward the door so I could wave his arm bye-bye, but before I could touch him, he was waving it on his own!

We all freaked out and clapped and he started waving bye-bye more and more wildly, urged on by our cheers.

My little genius.

Every new accomplishment is exciting, but this one particularly so, because it is the first time I've felt something like "communication" with him. I said we needed to say goodbye to our neighbor, and he started to wave bye-bye to her. My words aren't just amusing sounds to him now; they're starting to be meaningful. So I count today as my first contact with his mind. I'm overwhelmed.

- papa