"Daw."

Neither of my girls were early talkers.  Sure, they babbled with the best of them.  But while neighborhood children were rumored to beg, "Mama, let's go shopping!" before their first birthday, we didn't hear a meaningful "Dada" (of course) until Charlotte was around 14 months.  While I'll admit to being a little anxious back then, this time around I knew better --once they start, they don't stop-- and the sweet sound of that first "Mama" is all too quickly followed by a 2 year old declaring, "You are not a very good Mama!"  Sniff, sniff.

At almost 16 months, Molly's had a handful of questionable words (hi? hello? da? ma? ball? ish??) but with no consistency nor repetition.  Then this week she began trailing behind her furry friend, repeating, "Daw. Daw."  We reaffirm, "Dog!" and she claps, beaming.  Today she sealed the deal, flipping through a photo album and pointing out her beloved, "DAW."

So the official Mama/Dada bets are off, and really this comes as no surprise.  Reilly's as sweet to Molly as she is to him; in fact, there are only two comforting textures that propel her into thumb-sucking mode: her blankie and her (daw)ggie. ♥